Issue 1 — January 1986
Table Of Contents/Masthead
sun!plaid!fanzine-request Fri Jan 17 12:00:00 1986
OtherRealms, Volume 1, Number 1 (January 1986)
Table of Contents:
o Editorial: Am I missing something? -- chuq von rospach
o Words: Brokedown Palace -- alice!jj
o Writers: And You Thought Your FIRST Sale Was Hard... -- Jim Brunet
o Words: Mindkiller -- Peter Korn
o Authors: A Profile of Harry Turtledove -- Jim Brunet
o Picos: Quick reviews from the readership
o Readers: This month's readers survey
o Letters: The start of the Letter column
Edited and Published on an almost monthly schedule by:
Chuq Von Rospach
3770 Flora Vista #1805
Santa Clara, CA. 95051
(sun!plaid!chuq)
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COMING ATTRACTIONS
Jim Brunet talks about a young woman who is a winner of the Writer's of the
Future Contest and has since appeared in F&SF and ASIMOV'S.
Chuq Von Rospach talks about a set of historical romance novels -- starring
a vampire.
Also, "Inventing Reality" a look at making the fantastic make sense.
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Editorial: Am I Missing Something?
sun!plaid!fanzine-request Fri Jan 17 12:00:00 1986
In case you hadn't noticed it, the walls around our ghetto are crumbling and
Science Fiction books are making it onto best seller lists. The world is
peeking over the barriers and discovering what we've always known.
I recently read a story, though, that brought forward something that has been
bothering me for a while. In the January "Fantasy & Science Fiction", Greg
Benford published "Newton Sleep." It is a departure from his hard SF, is well
done and I recommend it highly.
As I read it a little voice in the back of my head kept whispering "Am I
missing something?"
This story works on its own, but to really understand what was going on, you
have to recognize that one of the main characters is Ernest Hemingway and to
know something about his life. Hemingway, one of the best writers of his
generation, was a journalist in the Spanish Civil war and finally ended his
life as a suicide. Without that knowledge, the motivations of Benford's
character remain hidden. The story is a lot more than just the light fantasy
that it seems at first glance. But I realized realize that the story had a
deeper level to explore. It wasn't just about Hemingway, Benford was writing
a Hemingway story, and again the story becomes something else because the
hidden references back to Hemingway's work allow him to say things without
writing the words.
I've taken a roundabout way to make a point. In talking to people it seems
that the percentages of people who don't venture outside the wall of our SF
ghetto is as large as the group that never comes in. Walls work both ways.
And that's a shame, because there is a lot out there in the 'real' world of
publishing. I'm not talking about Sydney Sheldon or Erica Jong, but Robert
Ludlum and Laurence Sanders and Erma Bombeck. And the classics.
Once you start exploring, you'll find that many SF writers have been influenced
by the classics. It shows up in their work, and those who prefer the ghetto
miss a lot because of it.
There are a lot of classical references to be enjoyed. Steve Brust's work "To
Reign in Hell" takes on more meaning if you've read the Bible, of course, but
it also pays tribute to Dante's "Inferno". Phil Farmer's Riverworld uses as
main characters Sir Richard Burton, Alice Hargreaves, and Mark Twain. For all
of its faults, his Twain is a good characterization of a man who symbolized
America through his writings. Twain's Riverworld actions make a lot more
sense if you've read Twain.
If you think of movies when you hear the name Burton, you're missing out on
the reason for the series to exist. Sir Richard Burton was a real-life
personification of the great adventurer, and Riverworld is intended to be his
greatest adventure. If you know nothing of the life of Charles Dodgson and
the girl-child he wrote Alice in Wonderland for, the relationship between her
and Burton in the book makes no sense.
The wall is imaginary, a phantom; the ghetto, a convenient stomping ground.
You can read Lovecraft and still attend a con. You can read Twain, can ponder
Kafka, or Dante, or Dickens. There is a lot of very good work out there
waiting for you.
The outside world is getting smart enough to sample what we have to offer
them. Are we going to reciprocate and sample their wares as well?
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Words: Brokedown Palace by Steven Brust
ihnp4!alice!jj Fri Dec 27 12:33:05 1985
"Brokedown Palace", Steven Brust, Ace, 2.95 US, 270 pp, ISBN 0-441-07181-3.
Copyright J.D. Johnston 12/27/85, Warren, NJ.
"Brokedown Palace" is Steven K. Zoltan Brust's fourth book. Its scope,
in contrast with the third, "To Reign in Hell", is small, concerning
the survival and succoring of a small kingdom cut off from the rest of
the universe by disinterest and lack of need. Brust borrows names and
folklore from the Hungarian tradition and names, and creates a small,
inwardly directed world that could (although this reviewer would not
suggest that such is the author's intent) parallel some of the world's
great historic institutions.
The story is written from the viewpoint of the youngest of four royal
brothers, each with a different problem. Over time, some of the
brothers accept their weaknesses, turning them to strengths, and others
fail, in ways large or small. The problem presented at the beginning
of the story, the staleness of the Fenarian royalty, is extended to the
physical symbols (or perhaps it is the other way around), and resolved
in a most unusual way that seems quite natural to the setting, as well
as (ahem) rather symbolic of several well-known philosophies.
The story certainly is of the "wheel turning" or "renewal of the circle"
style, perhaps (the reviewer is not well versed in the subject, having
failed to find a source thereof) in the style of Hungarian Mythology,
and certainly in the way of several non-deific mystical philosophies.
Brust does a most remarkable job of using the language to portray both
the characters and the situation, in a way that suggests that he would
be a most remarkable story-teller in other ages. A great deal of the
charm and pleasure of the story is in the modest and occasionally wry
language of "Brokedown Palace".
Those who have read "Jhereg" and "Yendi" will find more of the same story
telling, although in a more mature and less jarring fashion. Some of the
elements of the world of "Jhereg" appear in "Brokedown Palace", but the
story is NOT a sequel, nor does it appear, at least at the surface, to be
connected by anything other than the names of the wildlife.
Hard SF fans will find nothing of hard SF in this story, which reads much
as a folk tale, or fantasy. Those who like stories of *E*P*I*C* character,
as in "To Reign in Hell", will find nothing to suit their sense of cosmic
importance. Those readers who wish to enjoy a quiet, non-jarring book,
who are fascinated by colorful (but far from overbearing) tales, and who
like to read a good story, well written, and with interesting characters
and human-sized problems, will greatly enjoy this book. As is clear from
this review, I am of the latter category.
On a scale of 0-5, I figure I'll rate it a 4. It's not (quite)
a classic, but quite worth reading, and it deserves preservation.
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Writing: And You Thought Your FIRST Sale Was Hard....
Jim Brunet · ihnp4!ima!haddock!ism780!ism780b!jimb Fri Jan 3 21:31:40 1986
And You Thought Your FIRST Sale Was Hard....
by
James Brunet
A common assumption of beginning writers is, "Gee, if I can just get
my foot in the door and make a first sale, I can start selling regularly
because the editor will know me." In my own case, I made a sale to FANTASY
BOOK over a year ago. I KNOW that my writing is better, I now wince at some
of the writing in the story that I published. Another writer in my writing
group is in the same boat; he sold to F&SF, with no sales since. We've both
heard of other writers with similar experiences. So what's the problem?
"You look outside the next day, and the sun is still shining, and
birds are still singing and you realize that no one gives a damn." So said
Algis Budrys, SF writer and critic, when I asked him about the
after-the-first-sale blues encountered by many writers trying to make their
*second* sale. Our subsequent conversation confirmed what I had already
learned the hard way: one sale does not constitute a "break" into the
market. Talking to other writers and editors, as well as examining my own
pattern of non-success, has given me some idea of what some of the problems
of one-sale writers are.
*Story content.* Most writers who have made their first sale are at
least passable in terms of their writing craft. While their storytelling
abilities will not immediately bring Larry Niven to mind, or their style
evoke recollections of Roger Zelazny, they have mastered the basic art of
getting scene, character, and action down on paper in an entertaining way.
You may hear a writer complain, "...but my Merlin re-telling is just
as good as the ones that Jane Yolen gets published in F&SF" or "...my
post-holocaust story is a cross between Vinge, Brin, and Palmer."
Ah, but it turns out that's the problem. The story may be *just as
good* -- but put yourself in the editor's shoes. You have two stories of
more or less equal quality. One is by a recognized name, the other by a new
writer. Which story will help you sell copies by adding to the prestige of
the publication?
For a new writer to get published, their material must be either NEW,
or else extraordinarily well written. In the case of David Palmer's novella
EMERGENCE, a Hugo winner after it was published in ANALOG, it was both. The
story was a post-nuclear-holocaust story. The plot of plucky survivor makes
good is rather routine. What made EMERGENCE stand out was the NEW twist of
the point-of-view character -- an adolescent girl genius who unknowingly is
part of a human mutant strain that appeared in the 1920's -- coupled with
exceedingly good writing. Chances are that if you've sold a story, it was
one of your more imaginative efforts.
If you're having trouble selling your stories, look through your file
copies of your manuscripts that are out on the market. If you see a lot of
"me-too" plots, go ahead and keep them out on the market. You *may* catch
lightning in a bottle, an editor might find YOUR story to be the one that is
refreshing and different. If the stories don't sell, keep them. You may
need them someday when you DO have a name. In the meantime, every time you
sit down at your wordprocessor or typewriter, ask yourself "Does the story I
have in mind stand out sufficiently from all the stories by my favorite
authors?" By breaking new ground, you will increase the chances of an editor
buying a story from you, instead of someone else.
*Losing sight of the market.* Even in SF, all editors are human, at
least until proved otherwise. Each editor has his or her own style and
unique tastes. Reading entries in WRITER's MARKET or FICTION WRITER's MARKET
will give you some idea of editorial tastes. A careful reading of your
target magazines will give you an even better idea of your editor's taste.
So will carefully reading any personal notes on rejection slips from a given
editor.
Many neo-pros quite correctly attempt to learn the market before they
first start sending manuscripts out, only to develop instant amnesia once
that first sale hits the mailbox. "Oh, boy. I can now send that fantasy
that F&SF rejected to Stan Schmidt at ANALOG, and send that cyber-punk hard
SF story to FANTASY BOOK." Well, comrades, we may undergo a sea change with
our first sale, but it's highly unlikely that the editors have.
A professional credit listed on your cover letter will almost
certainly get your story a closer reading by the editor or first reader; it
may even get your story out of the "slush pile" or at least to the top of it.
But it doesn't change the nature and character of the magazine. Immediately
after my first sale, the nature of my rejection slips got worse, not better.
I soon recognized that I was trying too hard and went back to my normal
hard-headed appraisal of the market for each story. No, it didn't result in
a new sale, but the tone of the rejection slips told me that I was closer,
and if you view getting published as a statistical quantum event as I do,
then at least your odds are better. (Remember, in the best of cases its a
a very tough market -- typically only one percent or less of all submissions
get published. William F. Wu, whose WONG'S LOST AND FOUND EMPORIUM was
nominated for a Hugo, still routinely got rejection slips two years later
for stories he thought were just as good.)
Remember, too, that part of an editor's being human includes the
capacity to make mistakes. Before EMERGENCE was picked up by Stan Schmidt,
another editor rejected it with a note that said "Something this long needs
to be good. This isn't."
*Self-mimicry.* The final problem that occurs with new writers is
that once they have made a sale, they tend to repeat themselves. If the
first sale was a moody dark fantasy set in suburban Los Angeles, they'll
write three more supernatural stories along the same lines. Big name authors
do this all the time; the practice is known variously as writing a series,
creating a distinctive style, or milking the public.
Unless the story is both first rate and distinctive, however, the
writer is back to square one with the magazine editor, who is looking for
something NEW, or otherwise something that will help sell the magazine, i.e.,
a story by a writer with a following. As outlined in the beginning of this
article, derivative writing is difficult to sell, especially for a newcomer,
and doubly difficult if the newcomer's writing is derivative of his or her
own work.
*Proof?* Interesting assertions, but where's the proof you might
ask. I have none. These revelations have crystallized for me within the
past two months as a result of letters, insights, and conversations -- some
of the latter had been rolling around in my head since Westercon in July.
I'm applying these observations to my own work and have audaciously
set a goal of four sales for 1986. I'll let you know how it turns out; in
the meantime, your comments are welcome. The best of luck to all of you who
write and send your manuscripts out.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Editors Shawna McCarthy, Stan Schmidt, George Scithers
for their letters and conversations about my writing and the publishing
process in general; writers Algis Budrys , David Weiner, and William F. Wu
for sharing their experiences.
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Words: Mindkiller by Spider Robinson
korn@cory.berkeley.edu Tue Jan 14 14:30:03 1986
"Mindkiller", Spider Robinson, Berkley Books, N.Y., $2.95, 246 pages
(originally published Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1982)
With any review, one of the challenges is to tell the readers about the
book without telling them about the book--and thus spoiling the book for
them. I'm in the "know as little about the book before reading
it as possible" camp. I flatly refuse to read the outside covers or
inside page-long blurb designed to get you to read the book in order to
find that tantalizing scene displayed before you. That said, this review
will try to tell you how Spider Robinson tells you the story--and not
what happens in the story. From that I hope you'll be able to decide
whether or not you'll want to read the book.
Spider Robinson is different from all the other Science Fiction authors I've
read in that he writes human stories first, and SF second. His stories
all have deeper underlying meanings which come first, as opposed to an author
like Heinlein, where it's kind of hard to tell which came first. The SF setting
is almost incidental, though it's definitely not dispensible. Mindkiller is
no exception. This is not a "I want to forget my brain for a bit" reading
in either the Piers Anthony or Niven style
Mindkiller is a very human story, that asks a few important questions about
scientific possibilities the future will very likely bring us. Foremost of
these is the ability to directly stimulate the pleasure center of the brain
electronically (do you see where this might lead in a human story? Guess
again; Spider does something different!).
The style of the book is also very different from the norm of SF novels.
The story is told by two different speakers, alternating chapters. It
took me a while to get into the book b/c of this, but later I found that
I just HAD to keep reading in order to find out what happens to speaker
#1; and after reading speaker #2, I'd have to read all of #1 again because
#2 came to a crisis that needed resolution.
In fact, the entire book is really two building crises desperately needing
a resolution. As a warning to those who need sleep, don't start this book
as I did at 12:30 am. I didn't go to sleep until 6:00 am because I just
COULDN'T put the book down. I found this book the most intense novel I've
ever read, let alone the most intense SF novel.
Perhaps there is one negative thing I can say about Mindkiller. If it's the
first Spider Robinson you've read, you may be just a bit disappointed when
you read others. Don't get me wrong, all his books are excellent. But
Mindkiller is by far the most human and the most intense. Also, he's only
written six books, so you'll exhaust the lot of them quite quickly and want
more.
Without reservation I recommend this book--unless all you want is mindless
first Spider Robinson you've read, you may be just a bit disappointed when
entertainment, in which case you can read Piers Anthony and pick your nose
and try not to groan at the awful puns. In fact, I even like the way he
treats sex. Spider is the _only_ author that treats sex as something people do,
as opposed to aliens (Anthony again) or sex saints (Heinlein).
On our scale of 0-5, it's at least a 5. (I'd put a 6 or 7 on it, but chuq
wants me all of the reviewers to stick to the same system).
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Authors: A Profile of Harry Turtledove
Jim Brunet · ihnp4!ima!haddock!ism780!ism780b!jimb Thu Jan 9 10:31:45 1986
Authors: A Profile of Harry Turtledove
by
James Brunet
One of my year-end rituals is a review of all the SF magazines I get,
looking for those stories that I thought stood out from the crowd and
deserved recognition in terms of Hugo nominations, Locus Poll, ANALOG's AnLab
poll, etc. I take the resulting "long" list -- generally about a third of
the total published and break it down into "short" lists of five to seven
titles for each category: novella, novelette and short story.
The final process of picking and ranking the stories is much like
deciding who to kick out of the lifeboat; it's a painful process. One of the
compensating joys, however, is that each year I discover certain writers
placing several titles on my long list and and at least one title on my short
list, writers who aren't well known and whom I had not been consciously aware
of as being "good" writers that I could name if asked.
Following is a review of one writer whose work I've enjoyed for
the past couple of years, yet whose name is not widely known in the SF
community. Obviously, appraising writing is a matter of personal taste,
but the writers I've discovered that I like through this method are so
varied that I hope it will help you find some new favorite names to look
for, whatever your tastes happen to be.
* * *
A rabbi being called to decide whether flesh from a strain of pigs
radically altered by genetic engineering can be kosher; the consequences of
"bluffing" at poker introduced to a Sumerian-level civilization by a
interstellar survey team; the Jamestown colonists contending with not
red-skinned savages, but fur-covered *homo erecti* that lived on in the New
World while *homo sapiens* developed the Old. These are just some of the
premises for the stories of Harry Turtledove, who until recently was
published under the pseudonym of Eric G. Iverson.
One of Turtledove's main assets is developing solid story lines.
Many SF stories feature slender plots, or gimmicks as an excuse for the
story; Turtledove may use a novel idea as a gimmick to hook the reader, but
his stories then proceed to develop the ideas, usually with the the aid of
memorable, identifiable characters.
Turtledove's writing is simple and straightforward. While it may
lack any special elegance -- there are passages of Zelazny or Avram
Davidson that can make me stop and go "Oh, wow!" -- his writing avoids the
elaborately chiseled and self-conscious prose of Lucius Shephard and the
ponderous exposition of a writer like Robert Forward. Not a bad compromise.
It's to Turtledove's credit that I remember and respect even the
stories that I didn't care for, such as "Vilest Beast," which appeared in the
September '85 issue of ANALOG. This story concerned the interaction of the
Jamestown colonists with the New World *homo erecti*, and while it made me
shiver with distaste at what happened, the story was extremely vivid from
an emotional viewpoint.
I appreciate Turtledove's range, from the dark alternate world
described above, to a murder mystery set at the Winter Olympics on a moon of
Saturn, to the humorous piece concerning the rabbi and the pseudo-pork.
Indeed, even in his serious stories, it appears that Turtledove's sense of
humor is never far from the surface. The variety of his work approaches
that of Poul Anderson; I can only hope that we begin to see novels from
Turtledove so that we can have fuller meals borne of his toil in the SF
fields.
I first became aware of Iverson/Turtledove in late 1984; he has
appeared regularly in the pages of ANALOG since then. According to Jay
Kay Klein's Biolog column in the February '85 issue of ANALOG, Turtledove
was first published in 1979, when he sold a two-volume sword-and-sorcery
fantasy. Klein's column also stated that Turtledove abandoned CalTech and
later received a Ph.D. in Byzantine history.
Following is a partial bibliography:
"Herbig-Haro" ANALOG, 10/84
"Hindsight" ANALOG, mid-12/84
"Bluff" ANALOG, 2/85
"The R-Strain" ANALOG, 6/85
"Non-Interference" ANALOG, 7/85
"Les Mortes D'Arthur" ANALOG, 8/85
"Vilest Beast" ANALOG, 9/85
"The Road Not Taken" ANALOG, ll/85
"Hatching Season" ANALOG, 12/85
"And So To Bed" ANALOG, 1/86
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Pico Reviews
sun!plaid!fanzine-request Fri Jan 17 12:00:00 1986
FOOTFALL, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle [**]
Del Rey, 1985. 574 pp. (SF Book Club edition).
The cover proclaims, "Probably the finest novel of alien invasion ever written".
Replace "finest" with "longest" and I agree wholeheartedly. Features five SF
writers, the most intelligent President of the United States since Jefferson,
and the usual Niven/Pournelle Cast of Thousands. The first half of the book
was slow going, but things picked up when the action started. These guys can
do better. Anybody might do better.
-- Bill Laubenheimer (ucbvax!wildbill)
FOOTFALL, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle [*****]
del rey, 495 pages, $17.95
You either love Niven and Pournelle or hate them. I hate them (together) , and
loved this book. Don't expect deep insight or new themes, this is a fast paced,
fun, and original rehash of the alien conquest story. It'll give you a hernia,
but its worth it. I'm nominating it for a Hugo this year.
-- chuq von rospach
HACKERS, by Steven Levy [*****]
Dell, $4.50, 430 pages plus index
A detailed book on what it means to be a hacker -- not the way the media
normally uses the term, but as the hackers themselves do. Starting with the
first computers at MIT, this book gives an inside perspective on the people
that formed the underground of the computer industry. The books is three
sections -- Early MIT days, the Homebrew Computer Club, and Sierra On-Line.
The final section should be required reading in all business schools on how
NOT to run a software business. A good perspective on the people behind the
software, and highly recommended.
-- chuq von rospach
THE HIGH KINGS, by Joy Chant [*****]
Bantam books, 245 pages, $3.50
The first book I've seen on English Mythology (no, the Greeks and Romans didn't
have a monopoly, they just have a better agent). The stories of the ancestors
of King Arthur and the Round Table, it really helps fill out English history.
If you like Arthurian works, you have to read this book.
-- chuq von rospach
IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT, compiled by Scott Rice [***+]
Penguin, 144 pages, $4.95
A compilation of the best of the worst from the annual Bulwer-Lytton contest,
where everyone tries to write the best worst opening line for a novel. Some
are great, some are inspired, some are just bad, all together they are
sidesplitting (Example, the winner of the Sci-fi category: "The surface of the
strange, forbidden planet was roughly textured and green, much like cottage
cheese gets way after the date on the list says its all right to buy it."
-- chuq von rospach
MEDEA: HARLAN'S WORLD, edited by Harlan Ellison [****]
stories by Poul Anderson, Hal Clement, Thomas M. Disch, Harlan Ellison,
Frank Herbert, Larry Niven, Frederik Pohl, Robert Silverberg, Theodore
Sturgeon, Kate Wilhelm, and Jack Williamson; illustrations by Kelly
Freas. Bantam, 1985. 532 pp. (SF Book Club edition)
This book is the outgrowth of an extension course on SF given at UCLA by
Ellison in 1975. Ellison being who he is, he was not content with doing the
same old thing in the same old way; this book is the end result of a
demonstration of world-building. The stories range from good to very good.
Even more fascinating, though, were the SF authors trying to figure out where
they and the characters they intended to write about fit into a world the
particulars of which they had been handed shortly before appearing in front
of several hundred people interested in where crazy ideas come from. Especially
enjoyable for anybody who's ever tried to think like an SF writer.
-- Bill Laubenheimer (ucbvax!wildbill)
THE POOH PERPLEX, by Fredrick C. Crews [****]
dutton, 150 pages, $5.75
If you are interested in Pooh, a great book to read if you can find it (best
bet is a university bookstore). A series of literary criticisms of the work of
A.A. Milne in the best literaci form. The English major's version of what Pooh
is all about, my favorite (for pure strangeness) is the freudian evaluation of
the works.
-- chuq von rospach
A STAINLESS STEEL RAT IS BORN, by Harry Harrison [***+]
Bantam, 219 pages, $2.95
The story of the beginnings of Slippery Jim diGriz, super thief. Much better
than the last book (Stainless Steel Rat for President), but not quite as good
as the originals. It does show that there is life left in the series, though.
-- chuq von rospach
SURELY YOU'RE JOKING, MR. FEYNMAN (ADVENTURES OF A CURIOUS CHARACTER) [***-]
by Richard P. Feynman
Bantam books, 317 pages plus index, $4.50
Parts are truly hilarious, but the books reads like a transcription. Fenyman
rambles, and it could have used some serious editing. Even knowing how he
talks doesn't help as much as it should. He's strange enough to want to wade
through, but expect to skim through parts of it. This book is for everyone
who thinks that subnuclear physicists are fuddy-duddies.
-- chuq von rospach
The TAO OF POOH, by Benjamin Hoff [****+]
penguin books, 158 pages, $4.95
If you're a Pooh fan and haven't found this book, run out and grab it. You
thought that Winnie the Pooh was just a childrens story? Find out what Milne
was really telling the kids...
-- chuq von rospach
VENUS, INC., by Fredrick Pohl and C.M Kornbluth [****/**]
nelson doubleday [SFBC edition], 346 pages
Two novels in one volume: The classic advertising satire "The Space Merchants"
where P&C rake Madison avenue over the coals, and "The Merchant's War" where
Pohl tries to carry the story forward. The first is even more appropriate and
fun than it was when published in 1952, but the sequel simply doesn't carry
the punch -- Pohl tries to toss in a message and forgets to enjoy himself. If
you've ever yelled back at your TV set, read "The Space Merchants".
-- chuq von rospach
---
Pico reviews are short, informal ratings of books you've read. Don't be
afraid to review something someone else has already done. Comments should be
limited to a short paragraph (if you can't say it in that space, you should
write a full review of the work). Pico review ratings will be collated
occasionally to help us see what the group mind thinks.
source text file
Readers Survey
sun!plaid!fanzine-request Fri Jan 17 12:00:00 1986
This month the Readers Survey is in two parts. The first part is to find out a
bit about who is reading OtherRealms, the second part is to get an idea of
what you thought about OtherRealms. Please send your responses to
"sun!plaid!fanzine-request". It should only take a few minutes to do this, and
it will help immeasurably in tuning OtherRealms towards what the readership
wants to see.
chuq
1) Sex: (male or female, not yes)
2) Age:
3) Profession
4) How many Science Fiction Books do you read a month?
5) How many Fantasy Books do you read a month?
6) How many other books do you read a month?
7) How many hardcover books (not Book Club) did you buy in the last year?
8) How many book club books did you buy in the last year?
9) Favorite Author
10) Favorite Book of all time
11) Favorite Book in the last year
12) What magazines do you read?
13) Do you read fanzines? Which ones?
14) Do you go to conventions? Which ones?
I) What did you like most about OtherRealms?
II) What did you like least about OtherRealms?
III) What do you want to see in OtherRealms in the future?
source text file
Letter: Researching for Writers
cwruecmp!edguer Sat Dec 21 01:37:49 1985
Dear Mr. Von Rospach,
While I am not the best or most creative writer, I enjoy reading
the science fiction and fantasy writings of others. One problem I have
encountered in my reading fairly frequently in 'bad' or erroneous science.
Encountering such problems can easily break my 'suspension of disbelief'
and make an otherwise well written story an effort in patience to finish.
In an effort to help improve the situation and possibly end these problems
for some people I am willing to help people do research. I will answer
short questions with short answers and provide references to more extensive
materials. I will do the legwork so others won't have to.
Aydin Edguer
decvax!cwruecmp!edguer
source text file
Issue 2 — February 1986
Issue 2, February 1986
OtherRealms
A fanzine for the non-fan
"Where FIJAGH becomes a way of life"
Volume 1, Number 2
February, 1986
Table of Contents
Editorial: The Making of OtherRealms and Other Stories
by Chuq Von Rospach, Editor of OtherRealms
Authors: A Profile of Karen Joy Fowler
by James Brunet
Reviews: Wasp by Eric Frank Russell
Reviewed by James D. Johnston
Awards: Nebula Awards Final Ballot
Writing: How to Write a Review
by Chuq Von Rospach
Pico Reviews
by Our Readers
Writing: WORKSHOPS AND CRITICISM: HELP FOR THE SF WRITER
by James Brunet
Readers Survey: Our monthly question to our readers
Masthead: The necessary administrivia
Editorial: The Making of OtherRealms and Other Stories
by Chuq Von Rospach
Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach
I was originally going to write on the recent Shuttle tragedy. The
Shuttle, and the space program in general, needs as much support as we
can give it right now. Everything that I might have said about the
crash has already been said elsewhere and I don't think it is
productive to keep picking the past apart indefinitely. We should
start looking for ways to put the space program back into our future.
Without it, I wonder what future we have at all.
* * *
This is the second issue of OtherRealms, and the changes are rampant. I
was not happy with the look of the first issue. From my mail, it seems
that many of you agree with me. This issue experiments with a new look,
and I think it is on the right track. Drop me a line with your comments
on how to improve things further. I expect that OtherRealms will
continue to mutate over the next few months as I figure out how to
really deal with the limitations of an electronic media.
One big change I want to go into detail about is the move away from
mail Unix headers. OtherRealms is expanding rapidly, and has already
moved onto a number of non-Unix locations. One of possible interest is
SCI-FIDO, an IBM-PC based BBS that specializes in discussions of SF and
Fantasy (the phone number is in the masthead). Because of this, I
don't feel it is appropriate use a mail or digest format (both of which
are too limited for what I'm trying to do anyway).
I think it makes the magazine a lot more readable. I've now asking
authors to include U.S. mail addresses where they are willing so that
people on disconnected networks can contact each other.
Another change is that I'm now asking authors to include bionotes.
I'll use one or two a month, and I hope this will help the readers
learn something about the authors.
* * *
Who is the average OtherRealms reader? The details of the survey from
the first issue are in the Readers Survey section, but I wanted to
touch on them here. The readership is pretty much what I expected. Very
few of you read fanzines or go to conventions. One thing that did
surprise me was a high percentage of readers buying hardcover books
(about 15%). I expected about half that. This is just an indication of
how serious you are about your reading, since you don't wait until it
comes out in paperback.
The other really interesting part of the survey was the feedback
on who reads SF and Fantasy. Many readers claim to not read fantasy.
38 of forty admit to reading SF, but only 33 admit to reading
fantasy. The number of Fantasy books read per month is 25% lower.
Fantasy is the hottest selling book on the market right now (although horror
is growing the fastest in number of new titles) so I expected more
fantasy readers than there are. I guess the technical orientation of
people who would subscribe to this magazine skews things farther than
I'd expected.
Some people pointed out that the definitions of Fantasy and SF was
arbitrary. I agree, and to some degree those questions were ringers. I
was looking for information on your definitions of SF and Fantasy. Ben
Bova was quoted as defining SF as "anything I point at" and that
attitude is very much alive out there. You don't really care what the
spine of the book calls it. This is an important part of being an
intelligent reader. The definitions of SF and Fantasy would be an
interesting article or discussion to have in the letter column.
* * *
Speaking of the letter column, you'll notice that it is missing. This
is because nobody wrote in. I hope this will change in future issues.
Don't feel you have to comment on a published article. I'm happy to
start independent discussions on SF and Fantasy related subjects in
there as well. If you read Dragon magazine, they have two letter
columns -- a traditional column and a 'Forum' where people can talk
about things that don't really need to be a full article. I'd like to
see the OtherRealms letter column be both of these.
* * *
This issue of OtherRealms is heavily writing oriented. I hope future
issues have more reviews, but I'm working with the material that is
being submitted. This was a bad month for writing for me -- out of
town for a week, I'm now working on my third week of the flu. Because
of this, a couple of reviews and articles I'd planned simply didn't get
written. What did happen was that I was flat on my back next to a
large stack of unread books, so the Pico review section is huge.
I've really fallen in love with the Pico review format. It isn't what
I'd planned it to be, but this format works better quite well. The
more people who support it, the better it is going to get. It doesn't
take that long to drop me a paragraph on a book. Start making your
comments in that section. One thing I plan on starting in the a future
issue is a six month summary of the Pico reviews. People can then look
and see the average response to a book quickly. I'm encouraging
multiple Pico reviews of a single work, so don't let the fact that it
has been mentioned slow you down.
* * *
Reviews are the lifeblood of OtherRealms. One article I did get written
this month is "How to Write a Review." I'm also including it in a
revised version of the Writers Guide. It was important enough that I
wanted to make it available now. Writing reviews is hard work, and
there are some tricks that make it easier. I hope I passed some of
them them along. Please feel free to comment on how to improve it.
* * *
I've added a slogan to the OtherRealms title. "Where FIJAGH becomes a
way of life" is a play on a couple of famous fandom lines. FIJAGH,
stands for "Fandom is just a Goddamn Hobby", while the phrase "a way of
life" comes from FIAWOL or "Fandom is a Way of Life." I think that it
sums up what OtherRealms is all about -- learning more about the SF
without getting heavily involved in fandom. It's cute, and I like it.
* * *
I've rambled long enough. OtherRealms is starting to prove itself. I'd
estimated about 100 subscribers for the first issue and maybe 150
total. The first issue went to about 300 people and readership of this
issue should be about 450. The readership response is been gratifying
and positive, so I think I've pegged your interests pretty well. This
growth is making me work harder at turning it into a 'professional'
quality magazine faster than I'd planned, but I think it is worth it.
Authors: A Profile of Karen Joy Fowler
by James Brunet
hplabs!hao!ico!ism780!ism780b!jimb
Copyright 1986, by James Brunet
Karen Joy Fowler first came to my attention when WRITER'S OF THE
FUTURE, an anthology containing stories by the winners of the contest
of the same name, was published last May. Her "Recalling Cinderella"
was one of the few stories that was better than what I thought was the
mediocre average of the volume. I did not like the story -- it was a
psychologically chilly form of SF that I don't care for -- but I was
very impressed with the way mood and character were evoked.
I ran into Karen at WesterCon last July. I complimented her on her
writing and found out that she also enjoys writing poetry (that
accounts for the nice rhythms in the prose) and is a member of a
workshop run by Kim Stanley Robinson, author of two critically
acclaimed SF novels and some memorable shorter works.
Through the rest of 1985 I noticed Karen's name attached to other
stories in F&SF and Asimov's. At the end of the year, *TWO* wound up on
my list of possible nominees for the Hugo ballot.
All of her stories are intensely focused on mood and psychology. "The
Poplar Street Study" (F&SF, 6/85) is study of the inter-relationships
of people living on one small suburban block that happens to be the
control group for a study by aliens who have taken over the Earth.
"Praxis," (IASFM, 3/85), was Karen's first published story. It concerns
simulated people -- human body combined with software brain -- and is a
story of the stage, murder, and ethics. "The Lake Was Full of
Artificial Things" (IASFM, 10/85) is an tale of role-playing
psychotherapy and computer-induced therapeutic reality.
Finally, "The War of the Roses." It has nothing to do with Edward and
Margaret and 14th-century England. Part myth, part folk tale, part
apologue (extended parable). The teaser in Asimov's asks "Which is more
important, to preserve life or to preserve knowledge?"
This question barely scratches the surface of this story. I will not
spoil the plot; indeed, the plot is but the merest excuse upon which to
hang a wonderful story. The narrator is a young woman, a child of the
revolution. And the story concerns revolution, choices, tradition,
ideology, renewal and loyalty.
"There are many designs in the world, many plans. When you choose one,
then you are imprisoned. Then you have doomed yourself never to rise
above its weakest aspect. No, freedom involves the preservation of old
choices and work is the creation of new ones." Not a bad speech. In the
context of the story, it's not a speech but a character speaking, truly
and from the heart. No Heinleinesque speeching here.
Keep looking for works by Karen Joy Fowler. If you're thinking about
your Hugo ballot, or you simply want to read some good stories, go back
and read some of her earlier work. I particularly recommend "The Poplar
Street Study" and "The War of the Roses," though I'll admit that the
latter grew on me over time and fully blossomed on a second read.
Reviews: Wasp, by Eric Frank Russell
Del Rel, ISBN 345-32759-4 $2.95, Original Copyright 1957
Reviewed by James D. Johnston
ihnp4!icarus!jj
(C) Copyright 1986, by James D. Johnston
Wasp, as one can note from the copyright date, is a book from another
era. It concerns an interstellar war, a gifted misfit, and the
effectiveness of subversion. An introductory blurb about the author
discusses his experiences in the OSS during WW II.
According to the introduction, the book contains many references to
wartime Japan including the ever-present secret police and the cowed
society of the "Sirians", who are purple and look like short, bowlegged
humans. Various of the tricks used by the protagonist "Mowry"
suggest, or perhaps even reek, of OSS during WW II.
Ignoring the parallels and possible racist insults for a minute, the
plot describes the efforts of Mowry, who disrupts life on a frontier
planet quite effectively by mobilizing and abusing the criminal
element and taking advantage of the hidebound and fear-motivated
bureaucracy. The society that he disrupts is one that the reader isn't
supposed to like and perhaps even one one that the reader is supposed to
fear. Shades of Senator Joe passed through my mind a few times.
The story is entertaining in a fashion after the James Bond stories,
although Mowry does not have the super-human panache of Bond. The story
is science fiction by the device of using an interstellar war as an
excuse so hard SF folks and fantasy folks are both left somewhat by the
wayside.
It's a good, trivial read if you don't feel up to the complexity of
Mark Helpern, Steven Brust, or John Myers Myers, and it is supposed to
make you feel good at the end because the earthlings win. It does make
you wonder if they SHOULD have won, even though it doesn't seem to be
the intent of the story.
The book is clearly a product of its time and reflects the attitudes of
the postwar US. The reader is free to excuse or condemn this -- I'm
comfortable just pointing it out.
I'll rate it a 2-. It's not a classic, never will be, doesn't contain
profundity, but it does entertain if one remembers the 1950's. It
certainly doesn't provide the third drink of returning. If you like
Bond, perhaps.
1985 NEBULA AWARDS FINAL BALLOT
Nebula Finalists are listed on this ballot in alphabetical order by
title. In general, anything on the list is well worth reading. I've
read two of the novel finalists and both were superb.
Novel
BLOOD MUSIC Greg Bear
DINNER AT DEVIANT'S PALACE Tim Powers
ENDER'S GAME Orson Scott Card
HELLICONIA WINTER Brian W. Aldiss
THE POSTMAN David Brin
THE REMAKING OF SIGMUND FREUD Barry Malzberg
SCHISMATRIX Bruce Sterling
Novella
24 VIEWS OF MT. FUJI, BY HOKUSAI Roger Zelazny
THE GORGON FIELD Kate Wilhelm
GREEN DAYS IN BRUNEI Bruce Sterling
GREEN MARS Kim Stanley Robinson
THE ONLY NEAT THING TO DO James Tiptree, Jr.
SAILING TO BYZANTIUM Robert Silverberg
Novelette
DOGFIGHT Michael Swanwick & William Gibson
THE FRINGE Orson Scott Card
A GIFT FROM THE GRAYLANDERS Michael Bishop
THE JAGUAR HUNTER Lucius Shepard
PALADIN OF THE LOST HOUR Harlan Ellison
PORTRAITS OF HIS CHILDREN George R.R. Martin
ROCKABYE BABY S.C. Sykes
Short Story
FLYING SAUCER ROCK AND ROLL Howard Waldrop
THE GODS OF MARS Gardner Dozois, Jack Dann, & Michael Swanwick
HEIRS OF THE PERISPHERE Howard Waldrop
HONG'S BLUFF William F. Wu
MORE THAN THE SUM OF HIS PARTS Joe Haldeman
OUT OF ALL THEM BRIGHT STARS Nancy Kress
PAPER DRAGONS James P. Blaylock
SNOW John Crowley
The top five finishers in each category are on the final ballot. The
Nebula Jury added one work in each category. In addition, a
fifth-place tie in the novel category and a three-way fifth-place tie
in the short story category added additional works to the ballot. In
the novelette category, the Rules Committee determined that if it
received enough votes to qualify (which it did), PALADIN OF THE LOST
HOUR, which was incorrectly listed on the preliminary ballot as a short
story, should be added to the novelette category without displacing any
novelette that would otherwise have reached the final ballot.
How to Write a Review
by Chuq Von Rospach
sun!plaid!fanzine
Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach
The purpose of a review is to help other people decide whether or not
to read (or view) that work. There are two keys to writing a good
review: Consistency and Objectivity.
Of the two, I feel consistency is the most important. As you write
reviews for OtherRealms (or for anywhere, for the matter) people will
read them and then compare their reactions to a book with yours. If you
are consistent, they will learn to use you as a filtering mechanism to
help them avoid the things they aren't going to want to waste time on.
If you write every review from a different reference point, they won't
be able to judge their reaction based on yours, and your opinion is
less useful.
The key to consistency is objectivity. Before you can transmit your
views effectively to others, you need to understand your own blind
spots. Everyone enjoys a different subset of literature for different
reasons. Some like SF, some like Fantasy. Some prefer interesting
characters, some enjoy complicated plots or detailed environments. Once
you realize your preferences you should probably avoid reviewing
material away from your interests.
You aren't going to be objective about all of the books you read. If
you don't like Hard SF, for instance, it would be likely that you
wouldn't like a book by Robert Forward and the book would get a worse
review than it might deserve.
If you do decide to review outside of your interests, make sure the
audience knows this -- it will help them judge the review from your
point of view. I've run into this situation recently with the book
"Footfall", by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. If I am going to review
that work, the readers need to know that I've never liked anything that
those authors have collaborated on since "Mote in God's Eye". My
viewpoint is as far from objective as you can get and it is important
that the readers understand that. I didn't even try to be objective in
my review, but in outlining where my objectivity ends, I help the
reader put it into perspective.
Don't be afraid to summarize a plot, but be aware that a plot summary
is not a review. If you are going to talk about the plot, don't give
away critical plot twists. Don't quote cover blurbs. Make sure that you
tie in the summarization with the comments you make about the book --
it is real easy to get into a mindset where you give a plot overview
and then you review the book. This is a lazy review, and you are
padding your word count. If the summary doesn't make a point, you don't
need it.
Don't worry about word count, and don't pad your reviews. Many books
frankly don't deserve a full review, which is why I have Pico reviews.
Save your words for the books that deserve exposure.
Each review should be submitted separately. Please include the
following information on a book review: title, author, publisher,
price, and number of pages (For example, "Brokedown Palace, Steven
Brust, Ace, 2.95, 270pp, ISBN 0-441-0718103", the ISBN number is but
not required). For media reviews: Title, studio/network, date shown
(for television). Include stars, authors, and whatever else as
necessary. The final paragraph should summarize the review and tell
the reader whether or not to read/view the work (with a quickie on any
qualifications). A scale of zero to five (with zero reserved for truly
rotten things and 5 for 'classics') should be used if you're going to
use a rating scale. Be wary of rating creep and be VERY wary about any
rating number outside the normal scale (any time I see someone say "On
a scale of 1 to 10, I rate it a 13" I realize that they have no
objectivity about the work).
In general, use the words you need to write the review, but don't use
any more. It is easy to decide if you liked or disliked a book. It is
more difficult to figure out why. Until you do, you won't be able to
write a good review. Once you do figure out why, don't let the review
wander off of that main topic -- tie it all together.
PICO Reviews
by Our Readers
BLOOD MUSIC, by Greg Bear [****]
Arbor House [SF Book Club edition] , 214 pages
A strong story by a strong new writer. Greg Bear handles the tough
problem of writing a hard SF story about a genetic engineering without
glossing over the details or overwhelming the reader. It finishes like
Childhoods End, but the weak ending is the only problem.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
BROKEDOWN PALACE, by Steven Brust [*****]
Ace Fantasy, $2.95, 270 pages
A very strong work from a writer showing a lot of potential. This book
is so rich in imagery, believable and interesting characters and plot
as to defy discussion. Brust shows himself to have a sense of humor
that rivals Spider Robinson in a serious but lighthearted fantasy.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
CARDS OF GRIEF, by Jane Yolen [**]
Ace Fantasy, $2.95, 193 pages
More SF than fantasy, this is an attempt to study an alien society and
the starmen studying the society at the same time. Yolen seems to be
trying to write like LeGuin, and ends up with a muddled
not-quite-successful work.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
CLIFFS NOTES ON HEINLEIN'S WORKS [**]
Cliffs Notes inc., 59 pp.
Neat idea, and a must for any Heinlein collector. A good source for a
listing of his books. But I disagreed on much of what they had to say
about him, and the way they broke down is works into categories.
--Peter Korn
(sdcsvax!ucbvax!korn)
CORONA (A Star Trek Novel) by Greg Bear [***]
Pocket Books, $2.95
It is beginning to look like Star Trek novels do for SF authors in the
80's what Batman did for actors in the 60's -- everyone has to do it
once. Greg Bear pays the rent and chews the scenery with the story of a
Xenophobic press-lady on the Enterprise as it goes into a Nebula to
save a Vulcan research team. He throws in a cloning device (not really
used, though...) and a "monitor" that can take over control of the ship
if the Captain does something it disagrees with (it does, at a critical
point, of course) and an alien menace trying to bring about a new "Big
Bang" of the Universe because it is lonely. The Xenophobe, of course,
saves the day, and everyone goes off with a smile on their face to the
next novel.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
ENDER'S GAME, by Orson Scott Card [*****]
Tor books, $3.50, 357 pages
Truly stunning novelization of Card's first published story from
Analog. Most novelizations just get padded, this version is
significantly improved from the impressive original. Card looks at a
bleak future of interstellar war and children as soldiers in a very
human and sensitive way.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
THE FRANKENSTEIN PAPERS, by Fred Saberhagen [**]
Baen Books, $3.50, 308 pages
Saberhagen tries to do to Frankenstein what he did to Dracula with his
book "The Dracula Tape". Unfortunately, the result is muddled and long
winded as the monster carries on a conversation with itself while
Benjamin Franklin's son looks for him. An amazingly rotten ending, with
a "deus ex machina" plot twist worthy of the worst of Greek drama that
made anything done earlier in the book completely worthless.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
FUZZIES AND OTHER PEOPLE, by H. Beam Piper [***]
Ace Science Fiction, $2.95, 216 pages
The third Fuzzy novel, thought lost for 20 years, has finally seen the
light of day. Fuzzy followers will enjoy it, but it doesn't have the
polish of the other two. It starts an interesting exploration of what
happens when everyone forgets the non-interference pacts, but doesn't
really carry it through.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
KING KOBOLD REVISED, by Christopher Stasheff [***-]
Ace Science Fiction, $2.95, 216 pages
Another of the Warlock stories, this time with Cro-Magnon Vikings
leading the attack. The names change, the plot remains the same.
Enjoyable light reading, but don't expect miracles.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
A MALADY OF MAGICKS, by Craig Shaw Gardner [****+]
ACE Fantasy, 1986. 235 pp. $2.95 (mass-market).
A Malady of Magicks is a humorous collection of short fantasy stories
about a wizard and his apprentice. Collected together into one novel
are three short stories published previously and ~140 pages of new
stories. Perhaps some of the funniest stories I have ever read (if you
liked Another Fine Myth, you'll love this). I was prevented from
giving it five stars only by my reluctance to call a novel 'classic'.
The ideas were original (a wizard who is allergic to magic) and were
never carried to extremes (not another Xanth). There will be two
further volumes published, "A Multitude of Monsters" (Aug.86) and "A
Knight in the Netherhells" (Feb.87).
Aydin Edguer
decvax!cwruecmp!edguer
A MALADY OF MAGICKS, by Craig Shaw Gardner [***+]
Ace Fantasy, $2.95, 235 pages
Simply one of the funniest books I've read since Flying Sorcerors.
Non-stop gigglefest about the wizard Ebenezum and his apprentice
looking for the cure to his allergy -- to magic. Every time someone
sneezes, you're in for a new and silly adventure.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
NIGHT OF POWER. by Spider Robinson [*]
Berkley, $2.95, 287 pages
Spider Robinson writes an anti-racist novel. A man of strong emotions,
Robinson lets his anger get out of control and loses his objectivity on
the subject. The result is an angry and uneven book that doesn't really
make the points he was trying to make. An example of a 'cause' book --
one that just doesn't make it.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
NO DOORS, NO WINDOWS, by Harlan Ellison [***]
Ace, $2.95, 223 pages
A good book to give people who think that Ellison is an SF writer, this
is a collection of his mystery and thriller stories. It includes the
story that one him his Edgar (the Mystery Writers version of the
Nebula) "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs". Otherwise, none of the stories
are great, but none of them are bad, either. A must for Ellison
completists.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
ORBIT 19, edited by Damon Knight, [***]
stories by John Varley, Kate Wilhelm, Gene Wolfe, Felix
Gotschalk, R.A. Lafferty, Stephen Robinett, Michael McClintock,
Michael Conner, Phillip Teich, Kevin O'Donnell, Jr., Eleanor
Arnason, and Kim Stanley Robinson; Harpers Science Fiction [SF
Book Club Edition], 217 pages.
The 1976 edition of Orbit, the oldest continuing anthology of original
work in SF. Nothing flashy, nothing that will go down as a classic, but
good, solid SF with no rotten apples. Best story has to be "The
Disguise" by Kim Stanley Robinson with a futuristic psychological drama
about theater. The best known is probably "Lollipop and the Tar Baby"
by Varley.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
PET SEMATARY, by Stephen King [****]
Signet, $4.50, 410 pages
Classic King, the sort of stuff that deserves to be a Bestseller. With
just enough supernatural to keep his fans happy, King does a masterful
job of showing a family learning to cope with death.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
THE PROTEUS OPERATION, J. P. Hogan, Bantam, [*1/2]
SF Book Club
Cardboard characters, an action plot that doesn't, and a plot-fault
that makes us all realize it doesn't matter about half-way through.
One female character, who isn't even 3'rd lead.
James Johnson
ihnp4!alice!jj
ROBOTS AND EMPIRE, by Isaac Asimov, [***]
Doubleday [SF Book Club Edition], 383 pages
Much better than average Asimov as he continues the endless quest to
tie up every loose end in everything he ever wrote into a single
Universe. I don't like his writing style normally and found it
tolerable. Asimov tries to invent robotic metaphysics and the zeroth
law of robotics. I didn't buy either.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
THE SERPENT, by Jane Gaskell [*-]
Daw Fantasy, $2.95, 320 pages
Atlantean fantasy. I was repulsed by the way Gaskell chose to write the
story and didn't get past page 41. Dog of the month on my list
-- Chuq Von Rospach
SHIELD, by Paul Anderson [*****]
Berkley, 1963. 158 pp.
Great idea, well written, interesting, with a believable protagonist.
--Peter Korn
(sdcsvax!ucbvax!korn)
THE SNOW QUEEN, by Joan D. Vinge [*****]
Dell books, 1980, $3.95, 536 pages
a deep and entrancing tapestry of words, this book one a Hugo and
richly deserved it. This book stands with those of Tolkien and Wolfe
for building rich and interesting societies and putting real people in
them. A classic if any book deserves the title.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
THE SONG OF MAVIN MANYSHAPED , by Sheri S. Tepper [**]
Ace Fantasy, $2.75, 183 pages
A short novel about a person I didn't care about doing things I didn't
care about. The concept has a lot of promise, the execution just didn't
grab me. Very ho-hum fantasy when there is a lot better stuff on the
market.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
STREETLETHAL, by Steven Barnes [****]
Ace Science Fiction, $2.95, 308 pages
First solo novel shows promise. Post-earthquake Los Angeles is the
backdrop for an thriller about a super drug that pits a human fighting
machine against the Mob as he searches for his humanity. Strong
characters and a good plot has me waiting for the sequel. A rotten
cover, showing a 6 million dollar man clone with a sunburn despite the
fact that the lead character is black, really bothered me.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
TIMESCOOP, by John Brunner [**]
Daw Science Fiction, $2.95, 239 pages
A 1969 book recently reprinted, it could well have remained lost
without the world caring. A light farce of a rich man who has a
timescoop (for grabbing things from ancient days) invented so he can
bring his relatives forward in time for a family reunion. They all, of
course, turn out to be rotten and nasty people -- just what the world
needs more of. The ending is forced (a famous "Oh, I only have 50 pages
left, think of something..." type) and leaves the story incomplete and
rather muddled.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
UNACCOMPANIED SONATA AND OTHER STORIES, by Orson Scott Card [****]
Orbit books(UK) 272 pages
The first collection of Card's shorter work, including the original
"Ender's Game" (well worth getting just as a comparison to the novel).
There are a lot of good stories here: "Kingsmeat", "I Put My Blue Genes
On" and "Unaccompanied Sonata" (my choice for best in the book) among
them. At worst the writing is so-so, a collection well worth grabbing.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
THE WARLOCK IN SPITE OF HIMSELF, by Christopher Stasheff [***]
Ace Science Fiction, $2.95, 378 pages
An amusing romp as a high technology man runs into a low technology,
ESP oriented society. Throw in some good guys, some bad guys, an
epileptic robotic horse, and you have an interesting play on the line
between technology and magic.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
THE WARLOCK UNLOCKED, by Christopher Stasheff [***-]
Ace Science Fiction, $2.95, 282 pages
Another in the Warlock series, our hero gets shunted to an alternative
universe where magic works instead of technology. It's amusing stuff,
but gets repetitive after a while and the Warlock starts sounding like
Maxwell Smart in my mind.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
WORLDS END (VOLUME 2 IN THE SNOW QUEEN CYCLE), by Joan D. Vinge [***]
Bluejay Books, 230 pages
Only one character (BZ, the assistant police commissioner) in common
with Snow Queen, this not-quite-a-sequel has a much smaller scale and
is ultimately less interesting as we watch the main character head off
to the backwaters of the Hegemony in search of his brothers, and,
ultimately, a reason for his existence and his sanity.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
YENDI, by Steven Brust [****]
Ace Fantasy, $2.95, 209 pages
The sequel (sort of) to Jhereg. Brust puts me in the position of reading
everything I can find by him. There isn't nearly enough, and what there
is to read is consistently excellent.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
WORKSHOPS AND CRITICISM: HELP FOR THE SF WRITER
by James Brunet
hplabs!hao!ico!ism780!ism780b!jimb
Copyright 1986, by James Brunet
R.A. MacAvoy wrote a novel a year for 15 years before her first sale,
TEA WITH THE BLACK DRAGON, became a best seller and a HUGO nominee. The
case of reader turned writer is not unusual, the degree of persistence
and endurance exhibited by Ms. MacAvoy are. Many readers of SF, more
than those of any other field, decide to take a crack a writing in the
genre they love. The existence of this column is owed to this fact. SF
is in many ways more forgiving to the beginning writer. There are many
markets for short SF. The variety of opportunities is greater; last
year nearly 20 novellas and over 100 novelettes were published --
you'll have to look long and hard to find short (non-novel length)
mainstream fiction of greater than 7,000 words -- there are even fewer
by authors who aren't major names. Many new SF novels, including first
novels, are published each year. SF has traditionally welcomed
newcomers, if there are literary cliques in SF, there's always room for
one or two more.
But whatever the advantages of writing SF are the great majority of
would-be SF writers drop out, just as the great majority of would-be
writers in other fields. Much of the attrition is due to frustration
and much of the frustration comes from producing manuscript after
manuscript that, bluntly, show little or no improvement and no
likelihood that the writer will develop into a professional.
One of the best ways you can avoid this problem is to get good
criticism on your manuscripts, to learn what you're doing right, what
you need work on, and what you're doing wrong. All writers need this
kind of feedback, but SF writers most of all. All writers find that,
for the most part, the criticism of friends and relatives is
worthless. Unless your mother is an editor, your uncle a literary
agent, and your girl/boy friend a publisher, the comments you get
simply won't be very helpful.
SF writers have an additional burden to bear in that avid SF readers
aren't much help either. Most readers of any sort do not have the
critical vocabulary to analyze a manuscript and tell the writer what is
wrong in a way that will let writer fix the manuscript. Most SF readers
are so enthusiastic for SF material that they aren't discriminating
enough to tell good from mediocre from bad, and many will tell you that
a manuscript is good *just because* it's SF. This is just as silly as
the stodgy readers of Harper's who will turn up their noses at your
manuscript for the same reason.
The best place for most writers to get criticism is the workshop. A
writer's workshop is group of people who write and give each other
criticism. Workshops take many different forms. They may be short
term, lasting a day or a weekend; or they may be ongoing, meeting every
week or every month. Composition of the workshop may vary; some will
have leaders/instructors, others will be cooperative efforts of the
writers themselves. Following is a list of some of the characteristics
in a workshop and how they can have an effect on your work.
*Writing of manuscripts is REQUIRED for class.* Strange as it seems,
some workshops only encourage writers to produce. I've heard of several
workshops like this, mostly classes at community colleges, but at least
one class in Dark Fantasy at UCLA, taught by Dennis Etchison, followed
the same principle. In my experience, the workshop situation works only
if all participants both write and critique. One of the benefits of the
workshop process is that a deadline for manuscript submittal *forces*
you to produce. There's no better cure for writer's block than a
deadline a week away; the cure is even stronger if you've established
yourself as a tough critic -- there's no way that YOU can't produce to
the best of your abilities.
*Readers have sufficient time to read and critique manuscripts.* All
the workshops in my experience have had a protocol where manuscripts
submitted at one session are critiqued at the following session. This
gives readers the chance to read your story at least twice and to
assimilate it before marking up your manuscript and writing a
critique. Some workshops work on the principle that writers read their
work aloud. To my mind, this is irrelevant to the writing/publishing
process. A manuscript will be encountered by an editor or reader
silently -- just the words on the paper. Also, a good voice/reading
style can give a gloss to a bad manuscript, while a weak voice/style
will kill a good manuscript.
*Check the workshop size.* Too large a class means that your
manuscript will get too little attention. For a three-hour per week
class, I suggest 20 for absolute tops; 16 is better and 12 is better
still. Fewer than eight, however, means there is unlikely to be
sufficient diversity of opinion, which is one of the important qualities
a workshop can offer . Also, it's nice to have a roughly even balance
of male and female participants. Some works will have reactions
breaking along sex lines and it's important to know. With too small a
workshop, you can be uncertain whether it's a legitimate split along
sex lines or merely probability raising its ugly head. (Then, too, I
met my wife in a workshop, so I'm partial to the male-female balance.)
*Genre mix.* In general, avoid all-SF workshops. If you get a chance
to go to Clarion or Clarion West, by all means do, but most workshops
do not have such an intensive admissions process nor do they have the
quality of instructors. You can learn a lot from criticism by
mainstream-mystery-romance-???? readers/writers in a workshop. Since
they are not utterly enchanted with your ideas, they'll give good, hard
criticism on your writing. To balance this out, common SF conventions
like parallel universes or FTL travel will seem outlandish to them, but
you can discount their opinions here.
*Background of instructor.* An instructor who has significant
publication credits is probably the best indicator, although some who
can do can't teach. I had one instructor who said that he didn't
believe writing could be taught, the best you could do was to offer
gentle encouragement. I dropped him like a hot potato. Some parts of
creativity you can't teach, but I know that technique and craft *can*
be taught to a moderately high degree. Respect of the student's
intentions is also important. The best workshop leader that I've ever
had doesn't even particularly like SF, but he respected the intent of
my work and gave it very sound criticism. If you have doubts about a
given instructor, ask them how they feels about SF. Ask former students
for references if you aren't sure how it will work out.
*Class level.* Being consistently the best writer in a workshop does
you little good; being consistently at the bottom is hard on the soul
and can be embarrassing, though sometimes there aren't any alternatives.
Find a workshop that suits you. When you outgrow that, co-opt some of
the better writers you know and form your own group.
*Manuscript submittal.* Some workshops require advanced manuscript
submittal as the basis for entry into the class. This is not a bad
thing. It keep the raw beginners out. If you're a raw beginner, there's
usually a class called something like Fiction Fundamentals offered
through the same institution. Take it. When I first started writing
fiction seriously, I took a Fundamentals class just for drill -- I
figured I already knew pretty much everything at that level. When my
first exercise was criticized I realized that I had a *lot* to learn and
that that class was exactly what was needed for a cocky ego linked to
some pretty raw talent.
*Cost.* This is tricky. My pocketbook says, "The cheaper, the
better." Experience tells me otherwise, but adds, "Don't get soaked
needlessly." The argument in favor of workshops that cost is that they
automatically screen out participants who aren't serious. You want to
be working with people who really WANT to be there, not those who have
nothing better to do on Tuesday night. On the other hand, some prestige
programs don't seem to offer more for the dollar than some more
modestly priced workshops; the Writer's Program at USC comes to mind.
Caveat emptor.
I'm currently taking two workshops. One is a co-op group, made up of
refugees from various advanced classes at UCLA. We have nine members,
of whom four write some or only SF. We meet one night every three weeks
and do two or three manuscripts per evening. Everyone writes 1-6 page
critiques for each work and manuscripts are marked up with suggestions.
Both critique and marked-up manuscript are returned to the author as an
aid in revision. Roughly half the participants in the group have had at
least one fiction sale.
The other workshop is an advanced class at the UCLA Extension. It meets
one night a week for 10 weeks. It functions similarly to the co-op
workshop with one exception: manuscripts are anonymous. Participants
deliver copies to the instructor, who then passes them out in class.
This keeps the criticism from being given or taken personally; it also
thwarts the possibility of give and take between author and critics.
On the plus side, it puts each writer in the position of having to
critique his or her own manuscript. Overall, the anonymous style is
good for writers who are still sensitive about criticism. I prefer
open submissions, where the author can participate in a dialog with the
critics about what worked and what didn't. Writers should get
thick-skinned about criticism early. Constructive criticism is the best
possible thing that can happen to your manuscript. Even if it's a good
manuscript already, good criticism will help make it better.
I haven't been in a UCLA workshop for about a year. I went back for two
reasons. First, I wanted to find a couple of recruits to join our
private group (I succeeded). Second, the instructor is the best I've
ever had; I took workshops with him 4-5 years ago. I had an story that
I wanted to write and I knew that his presence would help get the most
out of me and that his criticism would be extremely helpful. My peers
in the co-op writing group give good criticism; for this story I was
looking for exceptional criticism. My manuscript was ambitious and it
got lots of praise. It also got attention to some deficiencies that
would have killed it in the marketplace. I will be doing a substantial
revision, throwing out the first six pages (out of 42), re-ordering
some scenes, creating new scenes, using a new point-of-entry, and
re-casting the way I present my main character. If you ever read THE
ELECTOR OF CAEN in one of your favorite SF magazines, it will be
because a workshop gave me criticism that I would never have been able
to work out on my own.
I believe in workshops and I believe in criticism. Both fiction
manuscripts that I've sold were developed in workshops. Beyond that,
workshops have had their impact on a lot of manuscripts I have on the
market right now. Workshops have been of incalculable aid to me; if
you're serious about writing, I think that you'll find them a great
help to you.
Readers Survey For February, 1986
The question this month: If you were going to teach a college level
introduction to Science Fiction, what books would you put on the
reading list. Limit your list to 5-10 titles and include the author as
well. Mail your answers to "sun!plaid!fanzine" or one of the other
addresses in the masthead.
Also the obligatory poll taking:
o What article did you like most in this issue of OtherRealms? Least?
Readers Survey Responses from January, 1986
The average OtherRealms reader is 27.7 years old, male (out of 40
respondents, 38 were male), works in computers or is a student (almost
a 50-50 split, with about 3% in miscellaneous other jobs), reads 4 SF
and three fantasy books a month, and reads 2.5 other books a month. 38
of the 40 read SF, 33 read Fantasy. 15% buy hardcovers. Of those that
do, they buy about 6 a year. 30% buy from the SB Book club, and they
average a book a month.
Your favorite author is Larry Niven (4 votes total) followed by Spider
Robinson, Roger Zelazny, R.A.Heinlein, Isaac Asimov (3 votes each),
Douglas Adams, Orson Scott Card and David Brin (2 votes each).
Your favorite work of all time is Lord of the Rings (7 votes). The Moon
is a Harsh Mistress got three votes, and Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy and Lord of Light both got two votes. Your favorite work in the
last year was a tie between Emergence and Ender's Game (three each)
followed by the Stainless Steel Rat series, To Reign in Hell, and
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (two each).
The readership don't read many SF magazines, with only about 5%
subscribing to one or more. Most popular was Analog, followed by Isaac
Asimov's SF Magazine and Fantasy and Science Fiction a distant third.
Nobody admitted to reading Amazing. Only a couple people expressed
interest in reading fanzines or going to cons.
Masthead for OtherRealms, Volume 1, Number 2,
February 1986
This issue is Copyright 1986, by Chuq Von Rospach
All Rights reserved
OtherRealms is edited and Published on a monthly schedule by:
Chuq Von Rospach
3770 Flora Vista #1805
Santa Clara, CA 95051
USENET: sun!plaid!fanzine
ARPA: plaid!fanzine@sun.ARPA
Fidonet: 125/84
Deadline for submissions for the next issue is March 20, 1986.
All material in this magazine is Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach.
One time rights only have been acquired from the signed or credited
contributors. All rights are hereby assigned to the contributors.
Reproduction rights: Permission is given to reproduce or duplicate
OtherRealms in its entirety for non-commercial uses as long as all
associated copyright notices and bylines are left intact. Re-use,
reproduction, reprinting or republication of an individual article in
any way or on any media, printed or electronic, is forbidden without
permission of the author or rights holder. Reproduction of subsets of
an issue of OtherRealms is permitted only if all bylines, copyright
notices and the masthead and table of contents areas are included in
the reproduction.
Subscriptions: Subscriptions are available on the USENET, ARPANET and
CSNET computer networks free. Send mail to the above addresses to be
placed on the mailing list. OtherRealms is also available through
SCI-FIDO, a Science Fiction oriented BBS, Fidonet number 125/84. The
SCI-FIDO phone number is (415) 655-0667.
Other BBS systems or computer networks are welcome to make OtherRealms
available on their systems. Either copy it from an available location
or contact me to make arrangements. If you do make it available, I
would appreciate hearing about where it is being distributed.
Submissions: Submissions can be made to any of the above addresses.
Electronic mail is preferred, for U.S. mail, macintosh format disks are
recommended to minimize publication delay (since I have to retype
hardcopy). Please enclose SASE with U.S. mail when appropriate. A
writers guide is available. Please read it before submissions as it
will answer most questions about what OtherRealms is interested in
publishing and style.
Letters to the Letter column: should be mailed to the above address.
Letters to an author should be mailed directly to the author where
possible. If you can't reach an author, I'll do what I can to get the
letter forwarded. All letters will be considered for publication unless
requested otherwise.
Coming attractions
o Chuq Von Rospach again tries to write about a set of historical
romance novels -- starring a vampire.
o An article titled "How Not to Write a Novel," full of examples from a
published novel that breaks all the rules.
o Reviews, reviews, and more reviews. Also Pico reviews
o Hopefully a letter column (hint, hint)
source text file
Issue 3 — April 1986
Issue 3, April 1986
OtherRealms
A Fanzine for the Non-Fan
"Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life"
Volume 1, Number 3
April, 1986
Table of Contents
Editorial: Son of News of OtherRealms and OtherStories
by Chuq Von Rospach, Editor of OtherRealms
Review: Dervish Daughter
by J.D. Johnston
Review: Smithsonian Magazine
By Barbara Jernigan
Article: Listening to Science Fiction
by John Wenn
Reviews: Golden Bough: Great Music in the Eclectic Folk Genre
by Barbara Jernigan
Readers Survey: The Monthly Question to Our Readers
Pico Reviews
by Our Readers
Letters to OtherRealms
by Our Readers
Masthead: The Necessary Administrivia
Editorial: Son of News of OtherRealms and OtherStories
by Chuq Von Rospach
Editor of OtherRealms
OtherRealms is happy to welcome a new BBS. David Dyer-Bishop, Sysop of
The Terraboard in Minneapolis is making OtherRealms available to his
users. Terraboard can be accessed at (612)721-8967 and is Fidonet
number 14/341. It's got a strong emphasis on SF, writing and text tools.
* * *
I want to congratulate regular contributor Jim Brunet on his second
professional sale. His story "The Devil, the Cat, and the Copywriter"
will be seen in an upcoming issue of Pandora magazine. Pandora is
semi-annual, and subscriptions are available from Empire Books, P.O.
Box 625, Murray, KY 42071. Jim's story is likely to be published in
either 9/86 or 3/87. I've read it, and it is well worth looking for.
* * *
I'm also happy to announce a new author in our fold, someone I hope to
see a lot of in future issues of OtherRealms. Barb Jernigan joins us
with a review of Smithsonian Magazine, the first article in what I hope
will be a long relationship.
* * *
You will notice that this issue is the April issue, while last issue
was the February issue. No, March did not simply disappear. I decided
that I wanted to adopt the industry tradition of predating issues.
Since I publish on the last Friday of a month, dating for the next
month will help keep things from getting confusing when I miss a deadline.
* * *
OtherRealms hit a critical point in its future, and I'm proud that it
happened this early in its life. For the first time I ran out of space
to publish things before I ran out of things to publish, so I'm now
running a backlog of material. This makes my life easier, since I no
longer have to do all the pasteup and formatting in the last week. It
shows the support that everyone is giving the magazine. Thanks!
Another related point is that this is the first issue that I'm not a
major contributor to. I'd planned two articles for this issue, but
when I ran out of space I decided that it was more important to print
other people's stuff. The fact that I no longer have to write to fill
the issue gives me a chance to write fewer but (hopefully) better
articles and keeps me from overwhelming the magazine with my viewpoint.
* * *
The Pico reviews continue to be the favorite part of the magazine. A
couple of people disagreed with my comments on some books (specifically
"Footfall" and "Pet Semetary") and so we have differing viewpoints on
those books this issue. If the Pico review section continues to grow,
I'll seriously consider splitting it into a second publication and give
it a life of its own rather than choke off the rest of OtherRealms.
Allowing multiple reviews of a title turns out to be a Good Thing. You
no longer have to be first to say what you think of a book. The ability
to build a consensus opinion of a work helps minimize a review that
overreacts. I also like being able to discuss books that aren't the
latest titles, since frankly I'm never caught up on all the books I
want to read and I don't know many people who are. No longer do you
have to feel guilty about not reading a book for six months, or two
years, or twenty for that matter -- not only should we be reviewing the
new goodies, we need to remember to help people find the books they
missed the first time out.
I hope to introduce the Pico Review summary next month. I've bought
Microsoft File for my Mac and that should make compiling the numbers
fairly simple. It will be interesting to see what the consensus view
on the books are.
I'm also planning to computerize my library over the next few months,
because I'm tired of never finding the story I want when I want it. As
I do so, I'll be putting most of the titles into the Pico reviews (at
least, the ones I remember reading well enough to review from memory)
to help fill out the database. This is one of the wonders of the Pico
review -- I find that if I wait a week between reading and reviewing a
work the review goes VERY slowly, but many Pico reviews are best when
time gives you a bit of perspective on the work.
* * *
Finally, the move to a moderated group on USENET is moving forward and
should be completed by the next issue. I'll be letting the affected
people know what to expect and how to deal with the change. This
change will free me of some extensive administrative details, but more
importantly will significantly widen the reading audience of
OtherRealms, improving its voice in the genre, its visibility, and (I
hope) bring in some new readers and writers to our pages.
Review: Dervish Daughter
by Sheri S. Tepper
$2.95US, Tor, ISBN0-812-55612-7
Reviewed by J.D. Johnston
ihnp4!icarus!jj
Copyright 1986 by J.D. Johnston
This book is hard to explain without giving away too much. The "Lands
of the True Game" are on a very unusual planet with an even more
unusual ecology. "Dervish Daughter" is the fifth (in a manner of
speaking) in a series of books detailing the ecology and the problems
caused by the human (introduced) population.
Shari Tepper has written three sets of books set in this intensely
complicated and singularly deceptive environment. The first set of
books, the three "True Game" books, detail the common human (psionic,
after a fashion) abilities on this world, and develop one major
character, Peter. We meet Jinian, the central figure of the third set,
in the last of Peter's books. The second set of books, the "Mavin
Manyshaped" books, are of historical interest to the first and third
sets. They are stylistically much different, written from a more
personal viewpoint, and less concerned with the world and ecology.
The third set, the "Jinian" books, consists to date of two books,
"Jinian Footseer" and "Dervish Daughter," with a third book
forthcoming. Stylistically similar to the first books, they describe
the growth and discoveries of Jinian. Jinian's meeting with Peter is
described in the first of these books, "Jinian Footseer".
Like Peter, we meet Jinian as an adolescent, mostly sheltered, and very
unschooled in the way of the world. Again like Peter, Jinian is
unusually talented, both in ability and the form of the ability.
The similarity doesn't matter. "Dervish" is quite interesting, very easy
to read, and fascinating, at least if you've read the "True Game" books
and the first Jinian book. The interlocking of the various plot elements
among the True Game books and the Jinian books is remarkable, even though
the books stand reasonably well on their own as isolated stories.
Tepper is a good storyteller. The prose is simple, the plot incredibly
complicated, the clues opening more questions than they close. There are
a number of riddles involved. The characters are developed and credible
and the world-universe remarkably well developed, fertile and complicated.
All in all, "Dervish Daughter" rates a [***+] or [****-]. It's the
middle of a series with the necessary weak ending and there is a
feeling that "there's something MORE going on here." The problems are
becoming clear and there is a hint to the solution. Given Tepper's
talents, however, I would suspect that there's more than the eye can
see, even at this point.
Although I don't have all of the books handy, here is a quick review of
the rest of the series:
"King's Blood Four" [****-] We meet Peter, the "Gamesmen" are
introduced, and the first signs of trouble appear. It's a good story,
but it ends in the middle and makes one want to know more.
"Necromancer's Nine" [***+] Peter starts to grow up, and the reader
starts to better understand the "True Game." We start to meet the
original inhabitants of the world. It also ends in the middle, but
with some resolution.
"Wizard's Eleven" [****-] Peter meets a Wizard and we understand the
basics of the game, but we also discover that there is something beyond
the game. Coincidentally, we see a trouble fixed, uncovering greater mystery.
The three "Mavin" books. [**-] to [***-] They may matter, but if so,
they do NOT stand on their own. To agree with another reviewer, "... a
character you don't care about doing things you don't care about..."
You care a bit more if you've read the True Game books, but you still
don't care a whole lot.
"Jinian Footseer" [****-] Aha! So THAT's what they're here for! Or
is it? What IS the wise-art? I really don't want to say too much, but
things certainly start hopping, and you get a good idea of some of the
unsaid things in "Wizard's Eleven," as well as a taste of something
bigger that you meet in "Dervish".
Review: Smithsonian Magazine
Reviewed by: Barbara Jernigan
idi!oliveb!olivej!barb
Copyright 1986 by Barbara Jernigan
You may be wondering why I'm reviewing a magazine here -- and a
non-SF/Fantasy magazine at that. In his first editorial, Chuq
suggested that we look beyond the boundaries of our genre ghetto,
especially since the more "literary" works are casting cross-culture
allusions. Besides, OtherRealms also includes other disciplines in its
definition -- not to mention the fact that our lives are richer for the
experience of looking through new perspectives.
Seriously, though, "Smithsonian" magazine (published by the Smithsonian
Associates) is a monthly romp through a diverse selection of topics.
Its articles are quite readable and knowledgeable; indeed, I consider
this magazine a complimentary twin to "National Geographic," with
writing, photography, and illustrations of the highest quality. While
"National Geographic" takes a scientific tone, "Smithsonian" leans a
bit more toward the humanities, though these distinctions are often
blurred. "Smithsonian" and "National Geographic" simultaneously
printed the same article on the Creation of the Universe in May, 1983
-- and I preferred "Smithsonian's" graphics.
Any issue of "Smithsonian" will have something for every interest,
beginning with the editorials. "Around the Mall and Beyond" tends to
deal with current events at the Smithsonian. The latest issue talked
about Gene Kelly, who is hosting the upcoming national broadcast
"American Treasure -- A Smithsonian Journey," which, "to an
extraordinary extent [...] manages to synthesize the essential gut
feelings of our sprawling, bewildering, complex and much-beloved
Institution."
"Phenomena, comment and notes," is a musing on particular scientific
discoveries. This month, for example, explores why "an apparently
stable ecosystem may require disturbances, some small as an ant mound,
to keep it that way." "Points of Origin" discusses our origins. And,
finally, there is always a tongue-in-cheek guest spot reserved for the
last page (i.e. "A few words on behalf of the Brontosaurus" -- "After
eons and eons of living a virtuous life in primeval swamps, and some 65
million years buried under the arid plains of the West, what is
"Brontosaurus'" reward? Some smart-aleck writer comes along and says he
never even existed. Without even an 'Oops!' or a 'Sorry.'")
The meat of the magazine is diverse -- these examples are from the
March 1986 issue. For the Naturalist, "Polar Bear Capital of the
World," Churchill, Manitoba, "where the lords of the Arctic are
tolerant of human intrusion." For the artist/American historian, "How
is the Alamo remembered?," "Differently -- as the author discovered
when he tried to do an accurate painting of the battle." This article
is as much about history and myth surrounding and "clouding" the
circumstances of important events of our past as about art.
For the paleontologist and aerospace engineer there's "Flying as they
did 65 million years ago," chronicling the creation and flight-testing
of a "battery-powered pterosaur replica ... [that] actually flies by
flapping its wings." For History (again -- but such is "Smithsonian's"
slant) and architecture buffs, there is "The ugliest buiding in
America," the eye-sore to treasure story of the Old Executive Office
Building. For art History fans, "The delights of a doomed society"
telling of a superficial French artist, Boucher, who "painted
exquisitely the heedless pleasures of aristocrats."
Psychology and Sociology is met in "Making Faces just comes naturally,"
a fascinating article discussing the universal meaning and importance
of human facial expressions. American history and sociology are nodded
to in "The offspring of the tourist cabin," a history of the pre-chain
motels. History and art history again appear in the entertaining
article, "Who was the lady of Vix?" Noble Woman or Madam, "we'll never
know, but her grave -- discovered by a French schoolteacher -- sheds
light on antiquity. Finally, "When propaganda was 'Spreading Manure'"
is a filmmaker's personal account of his valuable education received
while working under director John Ford in World War II.
There is also an interesting letters section, and at least one or two
book reviews, usually non-fiction titles.
In addition to this diverse, entertaining, and enlightening magazine,
your subscription also gives you a National Membership in the
Smithsonian Associates. Membership benefits include 12 issues of
"Smithsonian," participation in the Associates' Travel Program, Member
privileges and discounts at the Smithsonian Institute (Washington, DC)
and Cooper-Hewitt Museum (New York City), and book and gift discounts.
Smithsonian Books are marvelous -- high quality publications covering
everything from the History of the Sunday Comics to Space, Time, and
Infinity. The Smithsonian catalog has something for all tastes and
price ranges, from art and artifact reproductions to the latest in
high-tech toys from color-theory tops to space shuttle ties.
It's difficult to encapsulate such a panorama of experience in a few
words. If this teaser hasn't sold you, by all means pick up the real
thing which can be bought for $2.50 per issue from book and magazine
stores. Subscriptions are available for $18 (outside USA $28 in US
funds) with your name and address to:
Smithsonian Institution Membership Data Center
P.O.Box 2953
Boulder, Colorado 80321
Article: Listening to Science Fiction
by John Wenn
wenn@gandalf.cs.cmu.edu
With the technological marvel of the portable tape player, the
popularity of listening to fiction has grown enormously. Go into any
chain bookstore and you will see many tapes available in most genres.
Listening to fiction is definitely convenient; you can listen to a
favorite book while jogging, biking, or on long trips. Even apart from
its convenience, hearing the sound and the rhythms of prose is a
different experience than reading it on a page. I like to listen to
poetry or Shakespeare, but never get the same enjoyment out of reading
them. Listening to fiction also has advantages over seeing the same
thing on TV or at the movies. The pictures of well loved characters
never quite match what one expected. One has similar problems with how
characters sound, but it isn't usually as big a problem.
When talking about audio fiction, several distinctions should be made.
One distinction is if the work was originally designed to be heard, or
if it is an adaptation of another work. For the most part, books are
adapted, but on occasion movies are adapted as well, like Star Wars.
On the whole, original material works best since it was designed with
the strengths and weaknesses of the medium in mind. Adapting material
also has its own special problems. The main problem with adapting
books is that there is far too much material to be presented, so books
always end up abridged. This is not necessarily as big a problem as in
the movies, since you can have long adaptations (4 hours, 12 hours, or
more), but most of the tapes you see are one hour. I prefer long
works, since you get a much richer feel for the book in question.
Another distinction is if the tape is a dramatic presentation or a
reading of the work. Dramatic presentations can get quite elaborate
with many different people doing voices and complex sound effects. A
good dramatic presentation gives you a marvelous sense of actually
being in the work. This is the same approach used by radio in its
heyday of the 30's and 40's.
On the other hand, a reading is one or two people reading from the
book. How well this works depends greatly on who is reading. A poor
reading can leave one confused on what is happening and who is talking
at any time. A good reading infuses each character with a life of his
own. It is hard to find a reading that can match reasonable dramatic
presentation, but it is possible.
Now I give you reviews of seven audio SF works. I've grouped them into
three groups, to help contrast each of the works.
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien [***+]
Read by Nichol Williamson. Argo Records. ZPL 1196/9. 4 records.
Hard to Find
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien [***]
12 one hour tapes. Produced by 'The Mind's Eye' for National Public
Radio. Widely available in a large wood box.
Tolkien is the ultimate example of something impossible to adapt. Both
movie versions ('The Hobbit' by Rankin-Bass and 'Lord of the Rings' by
Bakshi) were massive failures. The length, depth and scope of both
books are awesome; everyone sees their own vivid images of people and
places that are impossible to reproduce. Listening has far fewer
problems, but the voices of the characters are never what one would
wish (Gandalf and elves are especially hard to do). Listening,
however, does have the advantage of hearing the wonderful rolling
rhythms of Tolkien's prose.
These are two examples of quite different successful adaptations. "The
Hobbit" is a reading by Nichol Williamson. Nichol Williamson is a
English Shakespearean actor. This experience is used in good stead as
he gives a rich array of different English accents for each of the
characters. The adaptation is good, with no major scenes cut, and most
of the dialogue kept. There is a minimum of sound effects, just a bit
of music now and then.
"The Lord of the Rings" is a full dramatic presentation. Full sound
effects with many actors doing voices gives a nice realistic feel of
the book. The adaptation is also quite good, with only a few of my
favorite speeches cut short. The voices, on the whole, aren't as good
(Elrond and Galadriel are quite bad), but some of the voices are
delightful (Treebeard in particular is wonderful). This is balanced by
being a full dramatic production. While neither of these are the last
word in dramatic presentations of Tolkien, they are quite enjoyable.
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams [****+]
BBC radio production. 12 half hour episodes. Occasionally
broadcast by National Public Radio.
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams [***]
2 records. Hannibal Records. HNBL 2301
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams [***+]
1 record. Hannibal Records. HNBL 1307
HHGTTG has been done in virtually all possible mediums. Radio,
records, TV, books, talks about movie deals, and I've heard about a
stage play. But the original and best was the radio production. The
marvelous voices (Marvin, The Book, Arthur Dent, and the rest), the
great rhythms of dialogue and narration, and marvelous sound effects.
You haven't lived until you hear the robot choir sing the "Sirius
Cybernetics Corporation" song.
The first six radio episodes closely match the records, TV series, and
first 2 books. The last six radio episodes don't have anything to do
anything other media presentations. They are very funny. The records
are cheap imitations of the radio production. They have scenes cut,
the voices aren't as animated, and the sound effects aren't as good.
If you can't get a copy of the radio production, however, they are
still quite funny. Now there is a book that has the original radio
scripts, entitled "The Original Hitchhikers Radio Scripts" [Harmony
Books, $9.95, ISBN 0-517-55950-1]. In addition to having material not
in the radio presentation, it has many interesting comments by Mr. Adams.
Ruby [****]
65 short episodes/4 1 hour tapes. $25.00. Produced by
ZBS Foundation, RR #1, Fort Edward, NY 12828
Ruby 2 [**-]
65 short episodes/4 1 hour tapes. $25.00.
Produced by ZBS Foundation
Ruby is a 21st century galactic gumshoe. A good one. This is a great
series. Wonderful wit, fantastic sound effects, amazing music,
marvelous voices, and that hardest of qualities to create: STYLE. Ruby
is smart, tough, and sexy. She loves blowing up things. She has been
hired to find out who is manipulating media reality on the planet of
Summa Nulla ('The High Point of Nothing'). A interesting cast of
characters complete the scene: the Toka (4 tentacles, 3 eyes, a blue
mustache, and wearing a red fez), T.J. Teru the archeologist ("I love
the feel of plastic - plastic makes me hot"), the Mole people, who love
mole-dy old puns, Angel Lips the android, Slimys (bio-genetically
engineered assassins), the Android Sisters, and many others.
The short-episode format makes for a different method of presentation.
It was designed to broadcast a 3 minute episode each day/week, which
makes for a slightly repetitive style. "Ruby" is not tightly plotted;
by the end of the series there are plot holes large enough to drive a
small moon through. It is still great, though. "Ruby 2" is a massive
disappointment. It stars a different Ruby (which isn't bad in itself),
has a far less interesting plot, retains only the least interesting
characters from the first series, has a very muddy plot, and just
doesn't have the spark of the first series. It still has very high
production values, but the story doesn't justify them.
Reviews: Golden Bough
Great Music in the Eclectic Folk Genre
Reviewed by Barbara Jernigan
idi!oliveb!olivej!barb
Periodically, in the drudgery of our day to day, we are lucky enough to
stumble upon a Pearl of Great Price, a bit of sunshine in the grey
expanse of sameness. Golden Bough is just such a gem.
I first discovered Golden Bough at the King's Mountain Art Faire, one
of the best in the San Francisco Bay Area. This foursome (Florie
Brown, Leif Sobye, Paul Espinoza, and Margie Butler) endeared
themselves to me with their musical repertoire, spanning traditional
Welsh to songs of the California gold-fields. They are balladeers,
accenting their well-blended voices with lively arrangements of flute,
recorder and penny-whistle, lap harp and accordion, violin, mandola,
mandolin, and guitar.
When, the following year, we were again delightfully serenaded at
King's Mountain, we were even more delighted to discover Golden Bough
produced albums. Three, in fact: THE BOATMAN'S DAUGHTER, FLIGHT OF
FANTASY and, for Christmas, WINTER'S DANCE (Kicking Mule label). We
immediately ordered all three, and found more delight in store.
As I said, the Golden Bough foursome may be described as balladeers.
Their tone is reminiscent of Great Halls and wandering minstrels -- the
same and yet modern, as if retelling and recapturing the magic of faery
tales. Our ears and fantasies were treated to an elegant blending of
voice and instrument in interesting and lively arrangements -- to our
wonder and delight greatly written by the group members themselves.
Here is no meer replaying of lost voices, but the minstrel's vibrant
spirit blooming again to life.
Now I play and you listen, friend.
Dance to the tune at your journey's end.
Leave this world, now you begin,
Fly with me tonight.
("Flight of Fantasy," Paul Espinoza)
Dare to fly with the music of Golden Bough. If you like the music of
eclectic folk you will *not* be disappointed. Cassettes and albums of
the three titles may be purchased directly from Golden Bough. Enclose
$8.98 for each and send to GOLDEN BOUGH, P.O. Box 11288, Oakland, CA
94611. Prices include Special 4th Class Postage and handling.
California residents add 6.5% sales tax.
Reader's Survey for April, 1986
Last month we set up a book list for a college SF class. This month,
we do the same for a Fantasy class: name the five to ten books you would
use to teach an introductory course in Fantasy at a college or university.
And the obligatory: What do you like most about this OtherRealms? The
least? Please drop me comments and any suggestions you might have.
* * *
Reader's Survey Report for February
Last month the survey asked for five to ten books you would use to
teach an introduction to SF course at a college. I got 11 lists, with
a total of 67 nominations of 51 different titles from 42 authors. They
are listed below, sorted by author.
Author Title Votes
====== ===== =====
Anderson, Poul No Truce With Kings 1
Asimov,Isaac The Caves of Steel 1
End of Eternity 1
The Hugo Winners 1
The Golden Age, Vol I 1
I, Robot 2
Bester, Alfred The Demolished Man 1
The Stars My Destination 1
Blish,James A Case of Conscience 1
Bova,Ben SF Hall of fame Vol IIa 1
SF Hall of fame Vol IIb 1
Bradbury, Ray Fahrenheit 451 2
Martian Chronicles 3
Brunner, John A Stand on Zanzibar 2
Total Eclipse 1
Burroughs, E.R. Princess of Mars 1
Carr,Terry Universe 13 1
Chrichton,Michael Andromeda Strain 1
Clarke,A.C. Childhood's End 3
Tales from the White Hart 1
Clarke/Proctor SF Hall of fame Vol III 1
Cowper Custodians 1
Delaney,Sam Einstein Intersection 1
Nova 1
Doyle,A.C. Lost World 1
Ellison,Harlan Ellison Wonderland 1
I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream 1
Forward,Robert Dragon's Egg 1
Haldeman,Joe Forever War 1
Heinlein, Robert A. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress 2
Starship Troopers 1
Stranger in a Strange Land 3
Time Enough for Love 3
Herbert,Frank Dune 3
Hogan,James The Genesis Machine 1
Hoyle, Fred The Black Cloud 1
Keyes, Daniel Flowers for Algernon 1
Leguin, Ursula, K. Left Hand of Darkness 3
The Word for World is Forest 1
Lem,Stanislaus Return from the Stars 1
Star Diaries 1
McCaffrey,Anne The Ship Who Sang 2
Miller,Walter A Canticle for Leibowitz 3
Niven,Larry Ringworld 1
Niven/Pournelle Inferno 1
A Mote in God's Eye 3
Pohl,Fred Gateway 1
Silverberg,Robert SF Hall of Fame Vol I 3
Simak,Clifford City 2
Smith,E.E. (Doc) First Lensman 1
Triplanetary 1
Tolkien, J.R.R. Lord of the Rings 1
Twain, Mark Birth of a Comet 1
Varley,John Persistence of Vision 1
Verne,Jules Journey to the Center of the Earth 1
Vonnegutt,Kurt Slaughterhouse Five 1
Wells, H.G. The Shape of Things to Come 1
The Time Machine 3
Williamson,Jack Legion of Space 1
Windham The Day of the Triffids 1
Zelazny,Roger Lord of Light 3
It's a good list, and you won't go wrong choosing any of them. Here
are some books I would have chosen that didn't get into the main list:
Adventures in Time and Space edited by Healy and McComas --
First published in 1946, it has 33 stories, all Golden
Year classics. The single best anthology I have ever found.
Dangerous Visions by Harlan Ellison -- controversial choice, but
it matches AiTaS perfectly, giving an anthology view of
SF in the 60's.
Davy by Edgar Pangorn -- good post-holocaust book. Earth Abides
by George Stewart would work just as well.
Needle by Hal Clement -- Alien encounter novel with a good mystery
style spy thriller attached.
Murder and Magic by Randall Garrett -- great alternate universe story
Dying Inside by Robert Silverberg -- Another PSI oriented story,
very person oriented, very dark mood.
OtherRealms Pico Reviews for April, 1986
BLACK STAR RISING, by Frederik Pohl [***]
del Rey, 214 pages [Science Fiction Book Club edition]
I've liked most of the Pohl that I have read, and this is no
exception. In a post-holocaust world, the Chinese have picked up the
pieces and are building a new society. However, their plan is
interrupted when aliens come to meet the President of the United
States. An interesting twist to the alien invasion story, with aliens
trying to restore the US to its former glory.
-- Shane P. McCarron
ihnp4!meccts!ahby
CHALLENGE OF THE CLANS, Kenneth C. Flint [*]
Bantam Books, 328 pp, $3.50
An average quality book about a stock theme: Father killed, Mother exiled,
Son grows up to be a super warrior to avenge them both. Flint can do better.
-- Russ Jernigan
idi!oliveb!olivej!barb
THE CHROMOSOMAL CODE by Lawrence Watt-Evans [*]
Avon Books, $2.50
The Earth is in an ice-age, and helpful aliens have happened along just
in time to save humanity. They ask nothing in return, at least until
they find the one man with the gene's they were looking for in the
first place. This is an idiot plot; if people acted with any
intelligence it would be over on page twelve. It relies far too
heavily on coincidence to survive a critical reading.
-- chuq von rospach
ESCAPE VELOCITY, by Christopher Stasheff [****]
Doubleday, 224 Pages [SFBC (To The Magic Born)]
This is a prequel to the famous THE WARLOCK IN SPITE OF HIMSELF, and
tells the story of how the planet Garmarye came to be. It is
incredibly humorous, as well as being as very good book. Stasheff
creates some very likable characters, and spins them through harrowing
adventures. A must for any Warlock fan!
-- Shane P. McCarron
ihnp4!meccts!ahby
FOOTFALL, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle [*]
del rey, 495 pages, $17.95
Don't even buy the paperback, but borrow it from someone. Pournelle
has said that due to too many commitments by one or the other of them,
they were writing 20,000 words a day just before deadline. The final
product reflects it. In terms of disasters and size of cast, it is
similar to Lucifer's Hammer, but nowhere near as polished. Too many
plot threads are introduced and either abandoned or summed up in a
sentence. Characters are introduced and then ignored or removed with
no opportunity to sympathize with them. I don't think any character or
even a group of characters can be thought of as the protagonists,
except perhaps the aliens. In summary, if Nivnelle had done another
draft or two, it could have been the equal of Hammer, but the book
reads like a first or second draft.
-- tyg
galloway@isib.arpa
HEROES IN HELL created by Janey Morris [*]
Baen Books, $3.50
Janet Morris tries to recreate the popularity of Thieves' World in a
new collaborative anthology. This is the first of eight contracted
anthologies, and the first of two contracted novels is also out. The
concept is silly (a day in the life of Hell, as the guerilla's attempt
to overthrow Satan and nothing quite seems to work right) the plots are
for the most part banal, and the characters are unsympathetic. The
writing is simplistic and the continuity is questionable. In other words,
they borrowed all of the worst parts of Thieves' World and forgot to
include what makes it worthwhile. The only story worth reading is
"Newton Sleep" by Greg Benford (discussed in my editorial in V1.1) and
available in a recent F&SF. Find the magazine, avoid the book.
-- chuq von rospach
ISHMAEL (a Star Trek novel) by Barbara Hambly [***]
Pocket 1985, 255 pages, $3.50
This Trek novel is great fun and a wonderful use of cross-universe. A
Klingon attempt to change history by time travel leaves Spock in the
world of the western series "Here Come the Brides". Passing characters
to look for, never mentioned by name, turn up from Star Wars,
Galactica, four incarnations of Doctor Who, Bonanza, Maverick, and Have
Gun, Will Travel. Barbara Hambly knows more about westerns than Trek
though, and three glaring errors in Trek background got past the
editor, including the inexcusable mistake of calling Vulcan Vulcanis.
-- Mary Anne Espenshade
...!{allegra,seismo}!umcp-cs!aplcen!aplvax!mae
JINX ON A TERRAN INHERITANCE, by Brian Daley [***]
1985, Del Rey, $3.50
JINX is a direct sequel to REQUIEM FOR A RULER OF WORLDS. If you have
not read the first book, JINX will be *very* confusing. On the other
hand, if you have read REQUIEM, do read JINX, even if REQUIEM left you
lukewarm. As you may have gathered, I found this book MUCH more
interesting than the first in the series (REQUIEM). Yes, I did say
"series," the adventures of Hobart Floyt and Alacrity Fitzhugh are
obviously just beginning. And I, for one, will be happy to buy them as
long as Daley can keep the quality up.
-- Russ Jernigan
idi!oliveb!olivej!barb
KILLING TIME (a Star Trek novel) by Della Van Hise [*]
Pocket 1985, 311 pages, $3.50
Similar starting plot to ISHMAEL, but this time the Romulans are trying
to change the past. Few redeeming features. The author copped out of
writing the characters in character by setting 90% of the book in the
altered universe. After reading nearly the same time travel plot done
well in ISHMAEL and done VERY well in THE PROTEUS OPERATION, the weak
handling of it here was even more annoying. The handling of time travel
and the Romulan background information are not consistent with the series.
-- Mary Anne Espenshade
...!{allegra,seismo}!umcp-cs!aplcen!aplvax!mae
LITTLE MYTH MARKER, by Robert Asprin [***]
Starblaze Edition, 1985, Donning Co.
This is the sixth book in a very tongue-in-cheek series about Skeeve,
an apprentice/journeyman mage, and Aahz, a demon from Perv ("That's
PreVECT... and don't you forget it!") who is Skeeve's Master/partner.
As those of you who have read any of the previous books know, Skeeve
and Aahz have the ability to get into the most hilarious scrapes. In
Skeeve's case this is usually by being too nice to somebody; in Aahz's
case it usually involves money. LITTLE MYTH MARKER is no exception.
The quality of the MYTH books continues to be high. Instead of beating
a tired horse, Asprin continues to introduce fresh horses (and zebras,
quaggas, gnus, dragons, griffins...).
-- Russ Jernigan
idi!oliveb!olivej!barb
LITTLE MYTH MARKER by Robert Asprin [***]
The Donning Co. 1985, 172 pages, $7.95 (Starblaze Edition)
Sixth in the Myth Adventure series. The Great Skeeve tries his hand at
dragon poker - with the usual unpredictable and pun-ny results. The
end leaves the characters set up for another volume. If you've enjoyed
the series so far, don't miss this one. There is some review of what
has gone before at the beginning, but probably not enough for someone
who hasn't read the rest of the books.
-- Mary Anne Espenshade
...!{allegra,seismo}!umcp-cs!aplcen!aplvax!mae
A MAN CALLED MILO MORAI, by Robert Adams [***]
Signet books, $3.95, 221 pages
Volume 14 in Robert Adams' Horseclans series continues Milo's
reminiscences, this time going back to the Great Depression and World
War II. One gets the feeling Adams is not as comfortable describing
the contemporary period as he is with the typical post-holocaust
setting. Still, the story is a good one that will interest any
reader. Those unfamiliar with Milo will find a believable tale of
people struggling against adversity; only later does it become apparent
that not everything is as it seems. Old Horseclans fans will revel in
this story as they have been waiting years to find out more about
Milo's background. [Warning: sexual content may offend some readers]
--rick heli
UUCP: {ucbvax,lll-lcc}!ucdavis!ccrrick
ARPA: ucdavis!ccrrick@ucbvax.berkeley.edu
THE MAN WHO NEVER MISSED by Steve Perry [***]
Ace Science Fiction, 1985. 195 pp. $2.95 (Mass-market).
This book has it all; Sex, Drugs, and Violence. It is better than it
sounds. The novel concerns a soldier who has a cosmic flash which
causes him to reevaluate his values. He decides the universe must be
changed and then prepares himself to change it. His motivations and
preparations are almost believable even if all his abilities are not.
Good entertainment. [Warning: sexual content may offend some readers]
-- Aydin Edguer
decvax!cwruecmp!edguer
MATADORA, by Steve Perry [***]
Ace Science Fiction, 1986. 211 pp. $2.95 (Mass-market).
The sequel to 'The Man Who Never Missed'. The protagonist is a woman,
and picks up about 3 years after the previous book leaves off. A
little bit more mystical than the previous book, it still receives 3
stars for its treatment of the female characters. All are strong
characters who are as good as if not better than their male counterparts.
Surprise ending. [Warning: sexual content may offend some readers]
-- Aydin Edguer
decvax!cwruecmp!edguer
MISS THISTLEBOTTOM'S HOBGOBLINS: THE CAREFUL WRITER'S GUIDE TO THE
TABOOS, BUGBEARS, AND OUTMODED RULES OF ENGLISH USAGE
by Theodore M. Bernstein [****+]
Simon and Schuster, $6.95
A great book on English Grammar, Bernstein uses a series of letters to an
imaginary high school teacher to explore all of those rules that are taught
by teachers that simply don't work. A good guide to a writer trying to
learn when it is reasonable to break the rules and explore the language.
-- chuq von rospach
MYTHAGO WOOD, by Robert Holdstock [*****]
Arbor House, 215 pages [Science Fiction Book Club edition]
Certainly the creepiest book I've ever read, MYTHAGO WOOD is a surreal
account of an ancient wood in post-WWII England. Within this wood the
mythos of ages past are still active, just waiting to be created by the
minds of a family who live on the wood's edge. This winner of the
British Science Fiction Association's Best Novel award is the best
thing I have read this year. I strongly recommend it to anyone who
appreciates mythology, the macabre, or both.
-- Shane P. McCarron
ihnp4!meccts!ahby
PET SEMATARY, Stephen King [*-]
Signet, $4.50, 410 pages
I picked this book up in a moment of boredom, I apologize. A collection
of cheap thrills and horrifying senseless slaughter. King has some
real writing skills which he uses to write schlock, I couldn't
stand the subject and never finished the book. Classic Stephen King.
-- Richard Loken
ihnp4!alberta!auvax!tech
THE PROTEUS OPERATION by James P. Hogan [****]
Bantam 1985, 403 pages, (Book Club Edition)
I've enjoyed several of Hogan's previous hard-SF novels, so when a
friend offered to loan me his SF Book Club edition, I snatched it right
up. The plot centers around attempts by several groups to change and
counter-change history by traveling back in time. Part quantum mechanics
text, part WWII spy thriller, it's probably even more enjoyable to
someone with a good knowledge of European history immediately leading up
to WWII (I kept a history book at hand to follow the changes).
- Mary Anne Espenshade
...!{allegra,seismo}!umcp-cs!aplcen!aplvax!mae
QUESTIONS YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO ASK ABOUT ENGLISH (BUT WERE AFRAID TO
RAISE YOUR HAND) by Maxwell Nurnberg [***+]
Washington Square Press, $2.95
A good technical overview of English Grammar. This book gives good,
solid and accessible advice on how to improve your writing. Combined
with "Miss Thistlebottom's Hobgoblins (see the pico review this issue)
you have the two books on English that any serious writer should read.
-- chuq von rospach
SUNDIVER by David Brin [**]
Bantam, $2.75
Not as good as Startide Rising, Dave Brin writes a good mystery that
suffers from very convenient plot devices. The technology needed to
fly around inside the Sun is fascinating, but the are just too many
coincidences leading to the climax for my taste.
-- chuq von rospach
THE VULCAN ACADEMY MURDERS (a Star Trek novel) by Jean Lorrah [***]
Pocket 1984, 280 pages, $3.50
Excellent Trek novel. Jean Lorrah is known in Trek fandom for her
writings on Vulcan culture and it shows here. As a murder mystery
though, the story is transparent, I had the intended victim, murderer,
motive and method solved before the first murder took place and I
didn't even peek at the ending.
-- Mary Anne Espenshade
...!{allegra,seismo}!umcp-cs!aplcen!aplvax!mae
THE WILD SHORE by Kim Stanley Robinson [****]
Ace Science Fiction, $2.95
Superficially similar to Vinge's "The Peace War," this book is set in
the same locale and time frame (post holocaust California) and a very
different book. Where Vinge has a high-tech society, Robinson has
written about the Agrarian/Scavenger people. Robinson deals with the
people instead of the hardware and the result is a very satisfying book
with very real characters.
-- chuq von rospach
WITCH BLOOD, by Will Shetterly [*]
Ace Fantasy, 1986. 197 pp. $2.95 (Mass-market).
A book with nothing outstanding about it. Little or no character
development, low on motivations, and I never really empathized with the
hero. Finding the solution to the hero's 'mysterious' background was
the only reason to finish the book. It wasn't worth the wait.
-- Aydin Edguer
decvax!cwruecmp!edguer
THE WHITE PLAGUE, by Frank Herbert [****]
Putnam, 467 pages [Science Fiction Book Club edition]
The White Plague is a book in the true Herbertian tradition; A single
force taking on the superior forces of an entire world and defeating
them. If you like that sort of thing, then this book is great! The
central character designs a plague that will kill all the women on the
planet if it isn't stopped. Good drama from beginning to end, as well
as excellent character development. As with all Herbert books, I hated
the ending -- but I've learned to accept that.
-- Shane P. McCarron
ihnp4!meccts!ahby
OtherRealms Lettercol -- April, 1986
Dear Editor,
I'm writing this letter is to talk about the current state of the SF
marketplace and to provoke a discussion on reviews, reviewing and so on.
Like you, I've just tried to read "Footfall" (Niven & Pournelle) but I
tossed it down in abject nausea after about 100 pages. In a similar
way, I've read about a dozen SF books in the past month or so and only
ONE of them was worth reading. That's pretty bad! In fact, that's far
lower than the usual hit ratio when you consider that a number were by
authors I had previously liked.
Why is this? First off, to be frank, I've been moving away from the
hard core SF books that I enjoyed in College but mostly it seems that
authors are rushing to hit the post-StarWars boom in the SF marketplace.
There is, in a nutshell, a LOT of crap out there! And it seems to be
relatively pervasive - even the good authors are being hit by the
malady. Part of the problem is that there is indeed a rather large
marketplace for SF so that almost anything written and published will
have at least a few thousand sales.
One of the reasons that the worst swill can sell well is that SF people
don't always talk to each other And that's why stuff like the "Pico
Reviews" in this fanzine are worthwhile - If we can get more information
about books then we can perhaps make shrewder decisions on
which to buy and which not to.
On the other hand, how useful are reviews until you've read a few books
that the review comments on? Not very since sometimes you can find
someone who is diametrically opposed to your tastes and can sort of
look for the ones the review pans and avoid the ones they like (this is
usually the way one deals with film critics :-). A case in point - a
lot of people on the net have been raving about Brust and especially
about "To Reign in Hell". I went out and bought it and, even after I'd
overcome the form of language that the author uses, didn't like it at
all. I just didn't give a damn about the characters halfway through
the book, and that's a bad sign.
This doesn't mean that it isn't a good book, however. I'm just trying
(in a somewhat unintelligible way) to provoke some thought and
discussion on the variety in SF and potential schemes for avoiding the
slumps much like the one I'm in...
Dave Taylor
ihnp4!hpfcla!d_taylor
[Editor's note: Am I the ONLY person in the world that liked Footfall?
Seriously, Dave has some good points. Many people find that their tastes
change over time. I cut my teeth on Bradbury, yet now I rarely read him.
I went through a phase where all I read was Vonnegut and Ellison, and
then "hard" SF and finally what I call "people" SF and Fantasy. Every
time you shift it takes a while to find a new set of authors. Some
people leave the genre completely; I once spent almost a year reading
only mysteries before coming back, for instance. I think this feeling
is natural, but that doesn't help the disorientation or burnout you
feel when NOTHING looks good to you. Anyone got ideas on how to get
over this hump, besides simply reading as much variety as possible?
Hard SF is making a comeback, and a good one, with Niven back in form
and Greg Benford, Vinge, Bear and Forward in the pack. As big as Hard
SF is, though, the real winner in the market right now is Fantasy, and
that is where most of the schlock is, unfortunately. For every good
work of Fantasy such as Brust's work, we seem to be inundated by dozens
of quest books, of quickly translated D&D dungeons, and lots of Tolkien
Clones. This is where the term "buyer beware" take on a life of its own.]
Chuq,
The art of reviewing has always caused me some bemusement. From the time
we are first-graders we are plagued with the omnipresent (and for most
forbidding) task of writing book reports. These book reports, alas,
assigned with little care and teaching of style, enforce some very bad
habits -- the greatest of which is the plot synopsis -- or, "Yes, flame
you, I read the book, and here's my proof, so leave me alone, will ya?"
Try to make your review interesting to read. Pico Reviews are nice in
that they are short. But if you're going to go beyond a few
paragraphs, the review becomes an *entity* in its own right, which
means the writer has a responsibility to the reader. A review is
worthless if no-one will read it.
Which is not to say I'm God's gift to reviewing -- but I do have a tip
or two for learning. I have a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts. I have
at least 12 art history courses locked away in the shady corners of my
memory. In art history, they teach you to write a review. And what a
review -- sometimes one can get so caught up in the language of
reviewing that the article begins to take on an independent life of its
own -- like Frankenstein's Monster. I'll give an example (from an
article by Dan Hofstadter on Boucher, an eighteenth century French painter):
Looking recently at a grisaille sketch for his *Venus Asking
Vulcan for Arms*, I found myself wondering how much of
[Boucher's] notion of painting is actually retrievable for
modernity... Unlike Rubens, his esthetic grandfather, he
doesn't work his figures up to the expression of some richly
suggestive action; he unfolds them rather, as one might a
string of papers dolls. The human figure becomes a decorative
unit like a tapestry flower or a bird; its limberness or
ductility is used not to express feeling but simply to create
variety. In earlier, high-Baroque painting, every religious or
mythological episode is transparent: the shapes and colors spin
a palpable metaphor for some aspect of the human condition. In
Boucher, by contrast, the pageant becomes opaque: the poses of
his sylphs and cupids are gorgeously looped and festooned
together without ever adding up to an emotional sum.
The eyes can get indigestion reading passages like this -- but they are
the norm in art reviewing. This is because art reviewing and critiquing
are intertwined (and perhaps because the review should be as much
artifice as the reviewed -- artists and would-be artists reviewing
art). I always felt a bit silly going to such extremes -- though there
was something sinfully heady in the challenge of "what obtuse allusion
can I hit them with this time?"
Seriously though, there is still something to be learned here -- first,
in the attempt to view the work with something more than superficial
interest; second, there is as much discussion in how the work is put
together (in the arts: brushstrokes, light and dark, coloring...) as of
its subject. This does not mean that superficial works cannot be
discussed critically. Indeed, the article on Boucher closes,
[Boucher] is not concerned with defying or upholding any sort
of code; he cares only for vividness and dazzle. He is very
like one of those wonderful charlatans who used to strut upon
the boards of the theaters [...] like a charlatan with a false
nose and a slipping wig, in a scarlet waistcoat or a
cornflower-blue waistcoat, who stays only long enough to sell
Tasmania to a gullible young man... only long enough to win one
laugh from the audience, then turns toward the wings and is gone.
Of course, it is much more concise (and perhaps honest) to say, "Let's
face it, folks, Boucher's work is a forgettable assault on the
eyeballs." And this is appropriate -- for a Pico review -- but it's not
nearly as much fun.
But I must confess some tongue-in-cheek here -- I do not suggest we
write in the ebullient style of the art critiquers, only that we look
at them for thought. They represent an extreme -- perhaps the opposite
extreme -- of synopsis.
I would suggest the would-be reviewer look at famous literary
reviewers. I've just discovered Shaw -- highly entertaining -- and
educating. And he is not a fluke; indeed, a great many writers over
the ages have augmented their incomes by the book review. Magazines
are another good source for book review examples ("Smithsonian,"
"Atlantic Monthly," any number of [book] specialty magazines, your
monthly book club brochure...). Observe -- critically -- and learn.
Barb Jernigan
idi!oliveb!olivej!barb
Masthead for OtherRealms
Volume 1, Number 3
April 1986
This issue is Copyright 1986, by Chuq Von Rospach
All Rights reserved
OtherRealms is edited and Published on a monthly schedule by:
Chuq Von Rospach
160 Pasito Terrace #712
Sunnyvale, CA 84087
USENET: {major_node}!sun!plaid!fanzine
ARPA: fanzine%plaid@sun.ARPA
Fidonet: 125/84, user chuq vonrospach
CompuServe: 73317,635
Submissions: Submissions are welcomed at any of the above addresses.
Electronic mail is preferred, Macintosh format disks through U.S. Mail
will allow me to publish your work MUCH faster (returned with SASE).
Hardcopy is accepted but will get keyed into the system when I get time.
A writers guide is available. If you are interested in writing
articles for OtherRealms, please ask for a copy. Pico reviews are
welcome from everyone. Duplicate the format used in this issue and
please limit your comments to one paragraph. Multiple Pico reviews for
the same work are welcome.
If you are on a BBS or other system that does not have access to the
above electronic addresses, contact your SYSOP about making
arrangements for a submission policy.
Letters to the Letter column: should be mailed to the above address.
Letters to an author should be mailed directly to the author where
possible. If you can't reach an author, I'll do what I can to get the
letter forwarded. All letters will be considered for publication
unless requested otherwise.
Deadline for submissions for the next issue is April 20, 1986.
All material in this magazine is Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach.
One time rights only have been acquired from the signed or credited
contributors. All rights are hereby assigned to the contributors.
Reproduction rights: Permission is given to reproduce or duplicate
OtherRealms in its entirety for non-commercial uses if all associated
copyright notices and bylines are left intact. Re-use, reproduction,
reprinting or republication of an individual article in any way or on
any media, printed or electronic, is forbidden without permission of
the author or rights holder. Reproduction of subsets of an issue of
OtherRealms is permitted only if all bylines, copyright notices and the
masthead and table of contents areas are included in the reproduction.
Subscriptions: Subscriptions are available on the USENET, ARPANET,
BITNET and CSNET computer networks. Send mail to the appropriate
address above to be placed on the mailing list. Subscriptions are not
yet available on CompuServe. Please write me for latest status.
OtherRealms is also available through the following bulletin boards:
SCI-FIDO, Fidonet number 125/84, (415) 655-0667.
The Terraboard, Fidonet number 14/341, (612)721-8967.
Other BBS systems or computer networks are welcome to make OtherRealms
available on their systems. Either copy it from an available location
or contact me to make arrangements. If you do make it available, I
would appreciate hearing about where it is being distributed.
Coming attractions
o A discussion of cooperative anthology/novel, looking at "Liavek,"
"Thieves' World," and "Heroes in Hell"
o Chuq really, honestly tries to print his article (announced in the
first issue for last issue) on the St. Germain Chronicles. Really.
o Barb Jernigan returns with an article on the importance of keeping a
journal in a writers life.
And, of course, Pico reviews, other reviews, and the letter column.
source text file
Issue 4 — May 1986
Issue 4, May 1986
OtherRealms
A Fanzine for the Non-Fan
"Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life"
Volume 1, Number 4
May, 1986
Table of Contents
Editorial: Callahan's Barred?
by Chuq Von Rospach
Review: Damiano
by Dave Berry
Review: Damiano's Lute
by Dave Berry
Awards: 1986 Hugo Nominations
Translation Review: Les Chroniques de Thomas l'Incredule
by George Walker
An Appreciation of Judy-Lynn del Rey (1943-1986)
by Chuq Von Rospach
Review: Gateway
by Dave Berry
Review: Beyond the Blue Event Horizon
by Dave Berry
Readers Survey: The Monthly Question to Our Readers
Pico Reviews
by Our Readers
Letters to OtherRealms
by Our Readers
Editorial: Callahan's Barred?
by
Chuq Von Rospach
Editor of OtherRealms
Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach
[This editorial contains discussions of plot elements of the
story "The Mick of Time" by Spider Robinson in the May, 1986
Analog. Readers who don't like reading material that spoils
things that they haven't read yet might want to this article]
Spider Robinson has written his last Callahan's Bar story. Spider
broke into the SF field in 1974 with "The Guy with the Eyes" and
quickly established himself as one of the strongest people oriented
writers in the genre. Over the last 12 years, Callahan's Bar has
generated two books ("Callahan's Crosstime Saloon" and "Time Traveler's
Pay Cash"), endless numbers of terrible puns, and a legion of diehard fans.
Many series lose their edge over the years, and I think Callahan's is
no exception -- time between stories grow, and many of the plots over
the last few years seem to be missing much of the freshness and
intensity of the early days. Both are warning signs of impending
series senility, and a good author heeds them and goes on.
So why am I so blasted mad at Spider? Not because he ended the series,
but because of the way he ended it. "The Mick of Time" in the May,
1986 issue of Analog is an extremely unsatisfying story. Robinson gets
into some last minute psychiatric soul searching that, at least for me,
invalidates the entire series. Finally, he really didn't END the
series at all. Like Sherlock Holmes at Reichenbach Falls, it only
awaits the whim of the author and the fell swoop of a convenient safety
net to bring it back to the land of the living. At the last moment,
when Robinson could have let go of his baby and let it die a natural
death, he wimps out, leaving himself open to the obligatory sequels.
Maybe I just expect too much from Robinson. Anyone who has listened to
me rave for a while knows that I'm a serious fan of his work. For once
I feel I've been let down.
Here are some points on why I think this story fails. Robinson tried
to bring back all of his old characters for the finale. All well and
good, but most of them get cameo appearances and few of the cameos move
the story forward, leaving the tale bloated and confused.
There is one significant technical problem. Early in the story, Mickey
Finn announces that he has successfully disabled the entire nuclear
capability of all the nations of the world. When it is discovered his
alien master is approaching, he is put to sleep to keep him from
answering his programming. A good portion of the crisis being built is
caused by the alien approach and the inability to use nuclear weapons,
since with Mickey asleep there is no way to re- enable them. At the
crisis point, though, a convenient small nuclear device is exploded,
destroying the alien and saving humanity. Never mind how they got that
device there; stranger things have happened at Callahan's. How did they
get the disabled device to explode? I've read the story a number of
times, and I can come to only two possible conclusions: either Mickey
Finn is lying or Spider simply missed a major hole in his plot. The
improbable has happened regularly at Callahan's, but this is the first
time the impossible has -- through an act of God on the authors part,
as far as I can tell.
Which brings me to the wimp out. Spider, as part of destroying the
alien, also takes Callahan's Bar with it. Using a tactical nuclear
device to destroy the symbol of the series is a strong statement on the
part of the author, and I can't see him doing something like that
accidentally. Callahan and family are unmasked (surprise! surprise!)
as time travelling aliens here to keep earth nice and happy.
Callahan's is reduced to component atoms, and Mike and kin go riding
off into the sunset. End of story? No, the Gang talk about going off
and opening up their own version of Callahan's. Robinson should have
either killed off the story or left it living -- instead its in limbo,
where he can write about it if it strikes him to but he isn't committed
to the series. This leaves those of us who look forward to these
stories stuck in limbo, too, and I resent that.
It's my feeling that the death of the series was premature. True, it
had started to pale out somewhat the last few years, but in the next to
last story (The Blacksmith's Tale" Analog, December 1985) we meet
Callahan's daughter and get the first glimmer of a new dimension to his
personality -- Papa Mike has a wife and kid. Who cares if the wife
runs the best brothel in the county; should that really surprise you?
All of this I could have accepted but Robinson plays a nasty trick on
Jake, the narrator, that I simply cannot forgive. Jake first came to
Callahan's after a car accident killed his wife and child. The
accident was caused by the failure of the brakes he had just worked on,
and Jake was carrying a major load of guilt for surviving the crash.
Many of the stories about the bar have been about Jake learning to deal
with and put behind this guilt; learning to accept himself again and
restart his life. His problems, and the struggles made to deal with
them, were one of the things that held the stories together; the thing
that made all of the stories real.
And at the end of this story, Robinson tells all of us that this guilt,
the gut-wrenching pain and sorrow we all lived through with Jake over
the years, all of it, was a sham. He is told that the accident wasn't
his fault, that he can forget all about it and become a normal human
being again, and please stop worrying about it. And, by the way, we
knew this years ago but couldn't tell you because you were important to
the destruction of this alien.
Callahan's just broke the first law of Callahan. No person has ever
walked into Callahan's and walked out unhealed if it was within their
power. Except Jake, whom they could have healed and didn't -because
they needed him for something else. He was used, he was played with,
and they stole 12 years from his life. No matter that the fate of the
Earth was in the balance; that never stopped Callahan before (starting
with the first story, when the 'easy' answer would have been to simply
kill Mickey Finn). That makes Callahan a sham, and all he stood for a
sham, and it leaves a musty taste in my mouth about the whole series.
If Mike Callahan had REALLY meant what the series said he meant, they
would have fixed up Jake years ago and still found a way to save the Earth.
Jake was raped, and the series and readers got taken along for a ride.
Those few final paragraphs where Robinson tries to absolve Jake
backfires. What they really do is show Callahan as no better than
anyone else, and they retroactively remove most of the validity of the
series in its entirety. With this one story, Spider has made me lose a
lot of respect for ALL of Callahan's bar. It was a great series -- I
felt a lot reading the stories, it helped me grow and it taught me a
lot about people. Now, a lot of the memories are tarnished.
That's why I'm mad.
Review: Damiano
by R. A. MacAvoy
Bantam, 1985, 243 pp.
Reviewed by Dave Berry
mcvax!cstvax.ed.ac.uk!db
Copyright 1986 by Dave Berry
Mary Whitehouse and her ilk would like all children to experience the
Victorian ideal of childhood innocence (of course, this never applied
to Victorian working class children, who had to work like everyone
else). Having experienced such a childhood, and having been greatly
harmed by it, I think this is a bad idea.
However, it does have some compensations. Like being able to be made
blissfully happy reading a book of innocence and warmth like this one.
It's not that the author is innocent - that would make unbearable
writing - but the main character is. MacAvoy writes like Orson Scott
Card (especially his "Songmaster") in that she is able to create a
feeling of 'rightness', of everything being right with the world,
despite its evident shittyness. It's interesting that both authors use
music as an image for conveying that 'rightness'.
I suspect that on re-reading Damiano I will find it naive, unrealistic
and irrelevant. However, there are some times when an escape to a
simple world, where characters can overcome adversity - not to be
triumphant, but to be happy - is an escape well worth taking.
The story is set in Italy during the renaissance. Damiano is a witch,
befriended by the archangel Raphael and a talking dog, out to set his
city free from a tyrant. He wishes to use his powers only for good,
but finds that impossible, and ends up being tempted by the devil
himself. So the story becomes a morality play, but an interesting
one. Some of the encounters and characters are quite novel; others,
such as being saved from an arrow by a book under one's jacket are old
ones, strangely out of place.
The link I suggested with childhood is strengthened by Damiano's
virginity, despite his 23 years. This is ostensibly because he's a
witch, though towards the end of the book it seems as if sex wouldn't
actually affect his magic. Childhood is also suggested by the strong
mother image of Raphael, who is beautiful, a teacher, and a comfort to
Damiano. Overall: wonderful if you like simplicity and magical
fantasy. If not, you'll probably hate it. [*****]
Review: Damiano's Lute
by R. A. MacAvoy
Bantam, 1985, 243 pp.
Reviewed by Dave Berry
mcvax!cstvax.ed.ac.uk!db
Copyright 1986 by Dave Berry
This is a sequel to Damiano. In fact it's billed as no. 2 of a
trilogy. Unfortunately, 'sequel' comes closer.
I regard a trilogy as a three volume story, or three independent
stories linked by character, setting or theme. Either way, it has some
internal consistency. A sequel is a follow-up, an afterthought; often
a means of cashing in on an earlier success. Sequels tend to be pale
imitations of their originals, a continuation of the story and
characters with no intrinsic merit.
'The Lord of the Rings' and 'The 1st Chronicles of Thomas Covenant' are
examples of trilogies under this definition; the 'Heechee trilogy' and
'The 2nd Chronicles of Thomas Covenant' are examples of sequels.
The third book of MacAvoy's 'trilogy' looks like being even more of a
sequel, since it features the black dragon from her first novel, 'Tea
with the black dragon'. It also looks like she's running out of ideas.
Briefly, Damiano's Lute continues the story of Damiano as he wanders
around Provence, unhappy, finding solace only in his music. For want
of a plot, Damiano and his companion, Gaspare, are searching for
Gaspare's sister. They get mixed up in the plague and in papal politics,
and Damiano has a chance to help someone for a change. A romance looms
with Sara, another witch from the first book, and this predictably occurs.
The ending isn't so predictable, but it isn't very good either.
What is really annoying about this book is that Damiano seemed to
finish the first book content, but the second book finds him unhappy,
and still wanting to do something Good, with a capital G. Ordinary
life is still not good enough for him. This clashes with the first
book, and with the mood of 'Tea with the Black Dragon' too.
Not worth the effort. [**]
1986 Hugo Award Nominations
(borrowed from the CompuServe Sci-Fi SIG)
[editor's comments are in brackets]
Best Novel
Blood Music, Greg Bear
The Postman, David Brin
Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
Cuckoo's Egg, C. J. Cherryh
Footfall, Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
[I am proven out! Footfall IS a good book. I am not alone! Not good
enough to win, however. A very good field this year, but my vote goes
to "Blood Music", with runner-up to Ender's Game]
Best Novella
The Scapegoat, C. J. Cherryh
Green Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson
Sailing to Byzantium, Robert Silverberg
The Only Neat Thing To Do, James Tiptree, Jr.
24 Views of Mt. Fuji, by Hokusai, Roger Zelazny
[Scapegoat and Green Mars are very good works. 24 Views is horribly
overrated in my view, and the other two I didn't read or they didn't
leave a vestigal memory. I'm going with "Green Mars"]
Best Novelette
A Gift from the Graylanders, Michael Bishop
The Fringe, Orson Scott Card
Palladin of the Lost Hour, Harlan Ellison
Portraits of His Children, George R. R. Martin
Dogfight, Michael Swanwick and William Gibson
[A reasonably good set of stories, with the nod to Bishop]
Best Non-Fiction
The Pale Shadow of Science, Brian Aldiss
Benchmarks: Galaxy Bookshelf, Algis Budrys
The John W. Campbell Letters, Vol 1, Perry Chapdelain _et al_ eds.
An Edge in My Voice, Harlan Ellison
Science Made Stupid, Tom Weller
Faces of Fear: Encounters with the Creators of Modern Horror,
Douglas E. Winter
[Edge in my Voice is a killer book, and normally would have gotten my
vote hands down. Science Made Stupid, though, runs away with my vote,
will run away with the award, and will run away with your sanity when
you read it. If you haven't, you should. I'm just starting to read
the Campbell Letters, but it looks like a critical work for those
interested in the history of SF]
Best Semi-Pro Magazine
Fantasy Review, Robert Collins, Ed.
Interzone, Dunlsey & Pringle, Eds.
Locus, Charles N. Brown, Ed.
SF Chronicle, Andrew Porter, Ed.
SF Review, Richard E., Geis, Ed.
[Locus will win, Porter will bitch, and Geis will deserve it. So what
else is new? (This is not a put down of Locus, but Brown is going to
need to build a new wing for awards one of these days...]
Best Dramatic Presentation
Back to the Future
Brazil
Cocoon
Enemy Mine
Ladyhawke
[I'm not a big media person, but I'll bet that Brazil wins, since it
seems to appeal to the serious SFner while BttF would appeal to the
mass movie goer. Enemy Mine and Ladyhawke don't deserve nominations.
They don't deserve to be on the film program]
Best Professional Editor
Terry Carr
Judy-Lynn del Rey
Edward L. Ferman
Shawna McCarthy
Stanley Schmidt
[Judy-Lynn wins. The nomination and award are posthumous, unfortunately,
and somewhat out of sympathy for the loss, but deserving none the
less. Carr and McCarthy are popular nominations, but neither has done
anything to really deserve it. Schmidt probably shouldn't be there,
either. My choice would have been George Schithers for keeping Amazing
alive this long, but he got canned, too (I thought it was a tradition
to give awards to people who got fired for doing a good job...)]
Best Professional Artist
Frank Kelly Freas
Don Maitz
Rowena Morrill
Barclay Shaw
Michael Whelan
[No real preference, except that Whelan always leaves me cold for
some reason. Technically he's good, but his paintings are too static.]
Best Fanzine
Anvil (Charlotte Proctor)
GCFCG Newsletter (Bobby Gear)
(Costmers Guild Newsletter)
Holier Than Thou (Marty & Robbie Cantor)
Lan's Lantern (George Laskowski)
Universal Translator (Susan Bridges)
Best Fan Writer
Don D'Amassa
Richard E. Geis
Mike Glyer
Arthur Hlavaty
Dave Langford
Patrick Neilsen-Hayden
Best Fan Artist
Brad Foster
Steven Fox
Joan Hanke-Woods
William Rotsler
Stu Shiffman
John W. Campbell Award
(* == second year of eligibility)
Karen Joy Fowler
Guy Gavriel Kay *
Carl Sagan
Melissa Scott *
Tad Williams
David Zindell
[Carl Sagan. Are they serious? Any you thought my liking Footfall was
crocked? That alone deserves a No Award vote, but both Fowler and
Williams have written stuff that has caught my eye. I think I leave
towards Fowler for now]
Review: Les Chroniques de Thomas l'Incredule
(really Lord Foul's Bane)
by Stephen R. Donaldson
translated from American to French by Iawa Tate
88FF, Flamme, ISBN2-277-02113-X
Reviewed by George Walker
tektronix!tekig4!georgew
Copyright 1986 by George Walker
This isn't a book review, it's a translation review. I'm reviewing it
not because I expect OtherRealms readers to go out and buy it, but
because this is a classic example of a bad translation. Often when we
read a book originally written in another language, we take for granted
that we're reading the "same thing" as the original. This isn't
necessarily so. In this case, French readers must be baffled by
Donaldson's popularity over here.
I read "Lord Foul's Bane" in 1977, when it first came out. The
translation didn't come out until eight years later, so French
publishers weren't exactly falling over each other trying to get the
book out. The publisher has given the title of the entire series to
the first book, a deceptive tactic that caught me years ago, when I
bought the French edition of Blish's "Cities in Flight" and found I
still had to buy three more books.
The cover art on this edition is mediocre, and the blurb misleading,
but that's common over here too, so I can't complain. On opening the
book, the first things that bothered me were some names on the map, and
the fact that this text is 25% shorter than the original.
Let me provide some examples of names: "Revelstone" (where the lords
hang out) becomes "The Stone that Laughs." "Foul's Creche" (where the
foe hangs out) becomes "Gehenna" (a biblical place, often a synonym for
Hell). The first name provides a somewhat literal translation of one of
Mr. Donaldson's made-up words, but it personifies the place in a way
that I find jarring. "Gehenna" is adequate; the meaning is different,
but it fits Donaldson's style better than the literal "Foul's Manger"
would have. Some people's names in the book are odd, too. "Saltheart
Foamfollower" becomes (roughly) "Saltheart the Pirate". That simply
doesn't fit the character.
Now, what happened to that 25%? Some critics say Donaldson is too
verbose, so maybe this was an improvement? Wrong. This is not a
"Reader's Digest" condensation, where non-critical paragraphs and
chapters are excised, but a condensation by paraphrasing. All the plot
is there, but the style is gone. Sentences and paragraphs that were
separate in the original have been run together, spoiling the dramatic
effect. Tense dialogue becomes monotonously dull. There are a number
of inconsistencies that indicate the translator didn't fully understand
the original.
When I was in junior high school, my Latin teacher let me translate
just like Iawa Tate. But this isn't junior high, it's a multi-million
dollar business with no room for lazy translators. As a translation, I
rate this a [*].
Judy-Lynn (Benjamin) del Rey
(1943-1986)
An appreciation by
Chuq Von Rospach
Editor of OtherRealms
Judy-Lynn del Rey, 43, died February 20, 1986 at Bellevue Hospital in
New York City. On October 16, 1985, she suffered a brain hemorrhage
and fell into a coma. She never regained consciousness.
Judy-Lynn joined the staff of Galaxy magazine in 1965 under editor Fred
Pohl. She became associate editor in 1966, managing editor in 1969 and
went to work for Betty Ballantine in 1973. When the Ballantines left
the line in 1974, she hired her husband, Lester, as Fantasy editor and
took over full responsibility for Ballantine Books.
I never met Judy. I now grieve the fact that I never will. She
single-handedly transformed Science Fiction from a second rate ghetto
in the publishing world to a major player on the lists of booksellers
nationwide. She did so quietly, so quietly that she never won a major
award, never was even nominated for a Hugo, was never a Guest of Honor
at a Worldcon. And now she's gone.
Judy published the first fantasy book to make the New York Times
Bestseller list -- "The Sword of Shannara" by Terry Brooks. If a
Science Fiction book hit that list, chances are it was one of hers,
either under the Ballantine label or her own Del Rey booklist. Pulling
books at random from my library makes me realize just how important her
work was for the field; from Arthur C. Clarke ("Rendevous with Rama",
"2010") and Robert A. Heinlein ("Friday", "Job: A Comedy of Justice")
to Isaac Asimov ("Robots of Dawn") and Larry Niven ("Footfall", "The
Integral Trees" and all the Known Space series). She has published
many of the most successful series in Science Fiction: the Pern books
by Anne McCaffrey; the Pliestocene Exile series by Julian May; the
Belgariad by David Eddings and the Sector General series by James
White. She published "Dragon's Egg" by Robert Forward, the book that
ushered in the recent resurgence in "Hard" SF. She published Hugo and
Nebula winner "The Forever War" by Joe Haldeman, "Starburst" by Fred
Pohl, "The Shockwave Rider" by John Brunner.
Judy was also instrumental in making sure that the classics stayed in
print. Important works in the genre such as "A Case of Conscience" by
James Blish or the Sub-Sea Academy works by Pohl and Jack Williamson.
She brought together George Smith's "Venus Equilateral" works from
Astounding in the 1940's with "The Complete Venus Equilateral." Last,
and far from least, she committed herself to bringing back into print
all of the works of OZ with the original illustrations -- thereby
reviving a classic wasting away on the bookshelves of nowhere and
bringing it to the grasp of new generations.
All the appreciations won't correct the fact that we never got around
to telling her all of this to her face. What she did, she did so well
that everybody took it for granted. It wasn't until our words were
beyond her hearing that her importance to the field was felt. I only
wish she COULD hear it, and I wish I'd said it sooner. No single person,
including the almost deified John Campbell, has done more for the field.
I hope that someone remembers to set her a place at the Worldcon
banquet this year, for she will be with us. I hope that someone
decides to name an award after her, to help us better remember her
memory. I hope most of all that celebrate her memories and
accomplishments as they should have been celebrated long ago.
She was taken from us long before her time. I grieve for her husband,
Lester, and her family -- Dr. Zachary Benjamin, her father; her brother
Leonard Benjamin; her sister Randi Benjamin, and all of her friends and
loved ones. I also grieve for Science Fiction, and for all of the
friends and loved ones (like myself) she hadn't met yet.
Review: Gateway
by Fred Pohl
Orbit (MacDonald & co.), 1985 (copyright 1976),
313pp, 2.50 pounds.
Reviewed by Dave Berry
mcvax!cstvax.ed.ac.uk!db
Copyright 1986 by Dave Berry
This book approaches excellence, but doesn't quite make it. The story
is of one Robinette Broadhead, ex-explorer and psychiatric patient.
The background, both of the book and its main character, is an
over-populated world with most people struggling to produce enough to
survive. Exploration of other planets has just started, and traces of
alien life has been discovered on Venus. This has led to the
discovery of Gateway.
Gateway is so-called because it is humanity's gateway to the stars, and
a person's gateway to riches, or death. It is an asteroid used by the
aliens (called Heechee) as a staging post for their interstellar
ships. There are lots of ships. Trouble is, no-one knows how to
control where they end up. So gateway pilots try them more or less at
random. Some never come back. Some come back dead. Some come back
with new Heechee artifacts - which make a lot of money.
Broadhead was successful. But somewhere along the line he fucked up
his head - something he did gave him a massive guilt complex, and he
won't admit what it is. The storyline mixes his analysis by a computer
psychiatrist with flashbacks of his life on Gateway; his romances (he
only seems to relate to women), his procrastination, his fears. This
creates a great deal of tension.
Overall the psychoanalysis is presented well, particularly the way
Broadhead evades the point (and wilfully misunderstands the
psychiatrist into the bargain). One good thing is that the resolution
of his condition is not final. Pohl doesn't fall for the liberal myth
of "once it's talked about, you'll be alright". Broadhead knows he
has more work to do.
There are two major flaws to the book.
1) At some time Broadhead obtains a password that allows him to see the
computer's records of OTHER patients, but to have no other power.
This is first used to give him some feeling of control, and also when
he finally faces the subject of his guilt.
My objection is that such a password would never exist. If it did, his
knowledge of its existence would make him wonder who could see HIM;
given his general paranoia this would not be conducive to the trust
needed in this sort of therapy. It is not necessary to the plot; any
minor password could have allowed him a measure of control, and the
final resolution doesn't need a technological gimmick. What is of
interest (& it IS interesting) is what goes on in his head.
2) At one point Broadhead hits his girlfriend. He believes this to be
a natural reaction. This is understandable given his character (he
isn't very pleasant), but the book doesn't undermine this view in any
way. In fact she comes back to him; given that she is economically
independent this seems highly unlikely. It is conceivable, but it
requires more explanation than is given. Her return also serves to
make an interesting change of plot into a bit of a gimmick.
There are also a couple of minor points:
1) As the book approaches its climax Broadhead is forced to recognize
his own bisexuality. This is most encouraging (it's nice when people
recognize our existence). Broadhead contrives some far-fetched excuse
to explain it: When he was young, his mother never so much as held him,
except when he was ill and she had to take his temperature by sticking
a thermometer up his bum! From this, Broadhead finds buggery a sign
of affection, and assumes this explains his attraction to men! I found
it quite believable that Broadhead would accept this, since he isn't
exactly in touch with most of his emotions. Unfortunately it isn't
clear whether POHL realizes it is an excuse. Since this is not the
major thrust of the analysis, it's left hanging, which is a pity.
Some indication that Pohl knew what he was talking about would have
made this more interesting.
2) The last line of the book has the computer envying Broadhead's flesh
& blood life. This could have been calculated analysis. On the other
hand, it could be kitsch.
Overall, probably worth reading. [***+]
Review: Beyond the Blue Event Horizon
by Fred Pohl
Orbit (MacDonald & co.), 1985 (copyright 1985),
327 pp, 2.50 pounds.
Reviewed by Dave Berry
mcvax!cstvax.ed.ac.uk!db
Copyright 1986 by Dave Berry
This is billed as the second in the "Heechee" trilogy, and a sequel to
"Gateway". It is set in the same universe, and features the same main
character, Robinette Broadhead, but I can't think of it as a sequel.
It continues the exploring exploits, but it doesn't continue the same
themes.
The focus is a Heechee "food factory" in the Oorf cloud. One boy
survives on the factory from an earlier exploratory mission, hiding
from it's occupants and talking to the computer-recorded explorers.
Four more explorers arrive. The previous explorers have never been able
to get their Heechee designed craft to return, so the newcomers use
more traditional rockets. The newcomers are relations; this is
apparently because families are more compatible on long space journeys
(not if they're like mine, they aren't). Actually it's a plot device
to get a young & horny girl arriving on the factory to meet the young &
horny boy.
The other travellers are husband, wife & father, the latter an elderly
German gentleman with hope of fame & fortune before his heart gives
out. He also remembers his days in the Hitler Youth with fondness (is
this a caricature I see before me?).
While they're all enjoying themselves out there, Robinette is coping
with law suits of various kinds back on Earth. It is he who arranged
the expedition, using his wealth from book 1. He is now happily
married, except that he wonders occasionally if his interest in finding
new Heechee technology isn't really a hope to rescue his long-lost
love, stuck beyond the blue event horizon of a black hole. (This
sounds distinctly fishy physics to me, but I'm not an expert).
This hang-up is handled about as subtly as Hiroshima was pacified.
The book reaches its low point when Robinette's wife realizes his
worries, and tells him that when he rescues Klara, saying he'd give his
life for her (Klara), she (Klara) will no doubt believe him. I can't
imagine anyone saying that to their spouse, given that their relation
is a) monogamous & b) stable; I also can't imagine that Klara would
believe such an idiotic statement, given that he has left her to die
there in the first place!
The adventure story is quite fun, with a nice twist at the end (makes a
change from all the twists at the end people seem to put in because
they think they have to) but the characterization is pathetic. The
husband on the expedition is written in the first person for the first
chapter, and the third person once Robinette appears and takes over
that privilege! Mind you, it's an understandable mix-up, since their
characters are pretty much the same.
The poor characterisation in this book leads me to believe that the
complaints I have with "Gateway" are failings of the author rather than
intentional but poorly explained facets to the characterisation there.
Overall: not very good. [**]
Reader's Survey for May, 1986
A change of pace this month. I'm starting to think about where
OtherRealms ought to go over the next few months, and I thought I'd get
some feedback on the ideas I'm playing with. Feel free to write in
your comments -- I plan to excerpt these answers rather than simply
total them, and I'm interested in your thoughts.
1) Should OtherRealms publish fiction?
2) If so, what percentage of the magazine should be used for fiction?
3)Assuming that OtherRealms stays about the same size, what parts of
OtherRealms would you remove to make way for fiction?
4) Would there be interest in a second magazine (say, quarterly or
something like that) for fiction as opposed to putting it in OtherRealms?
5) Should the Pico Reviews be split out into a separate magazine to
make more room for other stuff? Or should Pico Reviews be cut back? Or
should I leave them alone?
6) What about OtherRealms on paper? Would you be interested in
subscribing to a version of OtherRealms that comes through traditional
mail? (I would not be replacing electronic OtherRealms, but putting
out a (probably) quarterly beast with some stuff from the Electronic
version and some new stuff. This would give me a chance to start
publishing SF/Fantasy Art, among other things). If so, how much an
issue would you be willing to pay?
7) Anyone interested in an OtherRealms T-Shirt? If so, how much are you
willing to pay? (the latter is not to set price, by the way, but to see
if the cost of putting one together would be low enough to break even on)
Please feel free to drop your comments on any or all of these
questions, or questions that you think I forgot to ask about where to
take OtherRealms.
Finally, please drop me a note with what you think was best in this
issue of OtherRealms, and what you thought was worst. The author with
the most positive votes will get a hearty hurrah in the next issue in
lieu of anything more useful to give them.
* * *
Reader's Survey Report for April
Last month I asked for the works you would use to teach an introductory
Fantasy class. I only got six responses, which isn't completely
surprising considering fewer people seem to read Fantasy than SF.
[Rhetorical question: What is Fantasy, and how do you tell? Rhetorical
question 2: Is Julian May's Pleistocene Exile series SF or Fantasy?
Why? Think about your answers, and maybe write into the Lettercol with them]
Author Title Votes
====== ===== =====
Anderson Broken Sword 1
Midsummer's Nights Tempest 1
Three Hearts and Three Lions 1
Beagle Last Unicorn, The 1
Bellairs Face in the Frost, The 1
Boyer Fantastic Imagination I 1
Fantastic Imagination II 1
Phoenix Tree 1
Bradley Mists of Avalon, The 1
Brust To Reign in Hell 1
Carroll Alice in Wonderland 2
Alice through the looking glass 1
Cerf Famous ghost Stories 1
Dante Inferno 1
Davidson Peregine Primos 1
de Camp & Pratt Compleat Enchanter, the 1
Dinensen Winter's Tales 1
Eddison Worm Ouroboros, the 1
Gallico Man who was magic, The 1
LeGuin Wizard of Earthsea, A 1
Lewis Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The 1
Lord Dunsany King of Elfland's Daughter, The 1
MacDonald Princess and the Goblin, The 1
Mallory Le Morte d' Arthur 1
Marquez One Hundred Years of Solitude 1
McCaffrey Dragonsong 1
Morris Well at the World's End 1
National Lampoon Bored of the Rings 1
Niven/Pournelle Inferno 1
Rabkin Fantastic in Literature, The 1
Shakespeare Tempest 1
Shelley Frankenstein 2
Stewart Crystal Cave 1
Tolkien Hobbit, The 2
Lord of the rings 3
White Sword in the Stone 1
Zelazny Nine Princes in Amber 1
Editorial Observations: I'm surprised at the dearth of horror here,
since horror is simply an offshoot of Fantasy. If I were putting
together the list, I would consider including "Dracula" by Bram Stoker,
for instance. Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court"
would be another choice. If I had space, I'd also include some Poe, a
taste of Lovecraft, and Randall Garrett's "Murder and Magic" (astute
readers of OtherRealms will realize this also made my SF list, but I
think it reads just as well as a Fantasy as SF, so why not?).]
OtherRealms Pico Reviews for May, 1986
[+++ denotes first book by an author]
DEATHBIRD STORIES by Harlan Ellison [*****]
Bluejay books (SFBC edition) 295 pages
The best of the best of Ellison. This book is a book that cannot be
reviewed. It must be read to be appreciated. Go buy it, go read it.
-- chuq von rospach
THE DRAWING OF THE DARK by Tim Powers [*****]
Del Rey (Ballantine), 1979, 328pp, 2.50 dollars.
A mixture of myths, some fine humor; a man who alone can save the
west, but doesn't want to. Reasonably good characterisation, weakening
only near the end. Fine pacing, and the battle of Ragnarok too.
Bloody good fun.
-- Dave Berry
<mcvax!cstvax.ed.ac.uk!db
THE ELEMENTS OF EDITING: A MODERN GUIDE FOR EDITORS
AND JOURNALISTS by Arthur Plotnik [****]
Collier Books, $4.95, 156 pages with index
Everything you ever wanted to know about putting a magazine together,
but didn't know enough to ask. Lots of practical help for prospective
writers, authors, and people silly enough to try to put out fanzines.
If you're serious about writing, read this.
-- chuq von rospach
THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE by William Strunk Jr and E.B. White [*****]
MacMillan, $2.95, 92 pages with index
Short, sweet, the one book every author must own. A concise and
correct guide to the vagaries of the English language, as close to a
Bible as a writer will ever find.
-- chuq von rospach
ENDER'S GAME, by Orson Scott Card [***]
1985, Tor, $3.50
Though I distrust the quality of story expansions, I bought this book
on the strength of its novelette beginnings [published in the August
1977 Analog]. The book maintains the high quality I remember. A
unique premise -- mankind locked in a deadly war with a deadly
insectoid race that refuses to communicate at all, let alone
negotiate. Desperate, the world wide government has set up a training
program for future military commanders -- a school of specially
selected children, who sleep, eat and breathe tactics. Game follows
one such youngster, nicknamed Ender. Very thought provoking.
--Russ Jernigan
oliveb!olivej!barb
+++FLIGHT TO THLASSA MEY, by Dennis McCarty [**]
Del Rey, $2.95
FLIGHT is the first book by Dennis McCarty. The plot is standard
fantasy: Princess held hostage by a rival kingdom enlists the aid of a
down-at-the-heels knight to escape and return home. After the escape,
they and their companions evade recapture by heading into the
unexplored regions, discovering strange and wonderful things as they
go. It is the characterization that makes FLIGHT interesting, full of
internal conflicts demanding resolution. It wasn't until after I
finished the book that my mind started harping on the rather simple
plot. A creditable first effort -- I'm eagerly looking forward to his
next book, when the writing style should have matured a bit.
--Russ Jernigan
oliveb!olivej!barb
FOOTFALL, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle [*]
$17.95, 495 pages, Del Rey
Like cotton candy, you eagerly keep consuming it until you're finished,
but even in the process you were hungry for something more
substantial. Such is FOOTFALL. A cast large enough to make Cecil B.
DeMille happy; three or four of the characters are interesting though
none are memorable -- no Speaker-to-Animals, Nessus, Louis Wu, Beowulf
Shaeffer here. A space opera plot -- an improved version on LUCIFER'S
HAMMER -- with enough mild soap-opera sex- and-power intrigues to help
appeal to the mainstream bestseller audience. Yawn.
-- Jim Brunet
hao!ico!ism780!ism780b!jimb
THE MAGIC MAY RETURN edited by Larry Niven [*]
Ace, $2.95, 253 pages.
Larry Niven's foray into Fantasy (the novel "The Magic Goes Away") was
so well done that it demanded a sequel. Alas, this book is a
collection of stories vaguely in the same universe, but by different
authors. Most of the authors collected are Hard SF authors writing
Fantasy, and it shows -- most of the stories are poor to fair at best,
and the Ing work "Manaspell" spends all of its time building scientific
explanations for magic. The only story worth reading is "Strength" by
Poul Anderson and Mildred Downey Broxson. It alone isn't worth the
cover price, so pass this one by.
-- chuq von rospach
MORE MAGIC edited by Larry Niven [**+]
Berkley Fantasy, $6.95, 197 pages
This second collection of magic stories includes only four works -- one
by Niven with a second co-authored with Dian Girard; also works by Bob
Shaw and Roger Zelazny. All of the works are much better than in
"Magic May Return" but all of the authors are more firmly grounded in
the arts of Fantasy. The Zelazny story "Mana from Heaven" is
especially good, weaving Hard SF elements into a Fantasy story in a way
only a Fantasy author can do.
-- chuq von rospach
THE NORBY CHRONICLES by Janet and Isaac Asimov [*]
Ace, $2.95. 185 pages.
This book is actually two novellas about Norby, a R2 robot that has had
some special modifications done to it. The stories are formula juvenile
daydreams and are clearly intended for children. In each story the
fourteen year old hero, Jeff Wells, becomes involved in a dangerous
adventure. He gets into a variety of trouble but is always saved by
Norby who always seem to have just the right special ability to save
Jeff. The characters and story situations are very childish. A twelve
year child might enjoy this book but an adult would find it all too childish.
-- Danny Low
hplabs!hpccc!dlow
THE PROTEUS OPERATION by James P. Hogan, Bantam [**1/2]
SF Book Club
Typical Hogan: bland and contrived plot with 2-dimensional characters,
but an interesting physical premise and exacting attention to details.
WW II fans may enjoy his interpretation of events leading up to the
war. More action and more irony than usual for Hogan. Good mellow
reading after a hard day, although a bit long.
-- Carl Gutekanst
pyramid!csg
RETIEF AND THE PANGALACTIC PAGEANT OF PULCHRITUDE
by Keith Laumer [**+]
Baen Books, $2.95, 278 pages
This latest in the series of Retief books contains the title story and
"Retief's Ransom" (publ. 1971). The first story is typical Retief
complete with some new diplomatic "looks." It deals with an
intergalactic beauty pageant featuring entries from each planet, Earth
hoping to score Galaxy-wide notoriety by winning. I was surprised by
the twist in the ending (I thought I had Laumer figured out). "Retief's
Ransom" is an older story, but certainly not dated. It concerns an
alien race whose bodies break down into component parts.
--Rick Heli
ucbvax!ucdavis!ccrrick
STARSHIP & HAIKU by Somtow Sucharitkul [***]
Pocket Books (Simon & Schuster), 1981, 207pp, 2.95 dollars
A young boy with unknown psychic powers in a post-holocaust Earth - but
despite this cliche, a strange and novel book. Much involved with
whales and the Japanese mentality (if there is such a thing). Requires
a massive suspension of disbelief, but it's just about worth it. I
don't know how accurate the portrayal of the Japanese is; this book
might be racist - then again, it may not.
-- Dave Berry
mcvax!cstvax.ed.ac.uk!db
STAR TREK II; THE WRATH OF KHAN, by Vonda N. McIntyre [***]
1982, Pocket Science Fiction, $2.50 (also SF Book Club)
So often a book from a movie is just so much fire fodder. This is a
glad exception, completing rather than competing with the movie. The
nicest touch, McIntyre focuses more on the 'second string' characters:
Saavik, Peter Preston, Joachim (Khan's right arm), the staff of Space
Lab (computer folks will love the pair of game hackers -- and their
strange quark nomenclature). Two drawbacks -- McIntyre can't quite
decide if Kirk is Kirk or Jim, switching off between the two -- and,
since the novel was written during production, the best one-liners from
the movie do not appear. If you enjoyed the movie, by all means read
this book.
-- Barb Jernigan
oliveb!olivej!barb
THIEVES' WORLD #1 by Robert Aspirin and Lynn Abbey [***+]
Art by Tim Sale, Starblaze Graphics, $3.95
The Thieves' World universe continues to expand, this time to the
graphic novel format. This is the first issue of a quarterly black and
white glossy magazine format. The story is condensed out of the first
TW book, and the art is well done. Overall a well balanced and
interesting approach to the story. TW fans should find it, but
newcomers to the series should start with the books.
-- chuq von rospach
WITH FATE CONSPIRE by Mike Shupp [*]
Del Rey, $2.95
The cover reads "Book One of The Destiny Makers"; the plot involves a
Vietnam vet. who, perhaps unintentionally, is "kidnapped" 900 centuries
into the future. My overall impression of this book was that it was
rather odd. The action was very slow and strange events went by
totally unremarked by the characters. I suspect that this book merely
serves to set up the story line for the rest of the forthcoming
series. The writing itself was fairly good, so I'm willing to try the
second book, recently released, MORNING OF CREATION.
--Russ Jernigan
oliveb!olivej!barb
OtherRealms Lettercol -- May 1986
Dear Editor:
This letter is a response to Barbara Jernigan's article on the
Smithsonian magazine. I have been a subscriber to the magazine for
many years and strongly recommend it as well. The Smithsonian
membership that comes with the magazine is more than just an incidental
benefit. If you visit the Smithsonian in Washington DC, there is a
significant benefit that comes with being a member of the Smithsonian.
Except for the restaurants in the National Portrait Gallery building,
all of the public eating places in the Mall are absolutely terrible.
The ones in the Air and Space Museum are the worst of the lot. The
best place to eat in the Mall is the private restaurant, the Associates
Court, for Smithsonian members in the Natural History building. I once
spent a week just visiting the museums in the Mall and being able to
eat in the Associates Court was a real life saver. The food there is
good but not terrific. It is superior to any other nearby place and
the price is very reasonable. Most important of all, eat
Danny Low hplabs!hpccc!dlow
Dear Chuq,
Is a Science Fiction fanzine really the place for a review of
Smithsonian Magazine and the music of an obscure folk group? I think
not. Barbara Jernigan states (restates?) that we should look beyond
the 'genre ghetto' to discuss other topics. I agree with the premise
but not the implementation.
Let's look at the phrase 'genre ghetto'. I take that phrase to mean
conventional SF and Fantasy. So what is beyond this in concept
without going so far as to alienate the intended audience? Perhaps
Horror (a genre I have no interest in personally), Gothic (Arthurian
Fantasies, etc.), SF & Fantasy poems, and perhaps music that stretches
'convention'. Of course this is just a suggested list and will not
make sense to everyone who has an opinion. As a matter of fact, I
would probably not be interested in some of the categories. The point
is though that they all have SOME tie to SF and/or Fantasy. Like all
writing, the writing in this fanzine should have a target audience. In
my opinion the Editor must make a decision what that target will be
and, to the best of his/her ability, strive to bring pleasure and
enlightenment to that audience.
My other point, that magazine reviews in general are silly is backed up
rather easily: If I am interested in a subject I will probably know of
all MASS marketed magazines relating to that subject. Since most
magazines are cheap and/or easily browsed through, I would think it a
simple matter to arrive at a decision on ones own time. Reviews of
magazines that are NOT generally available would, perhaps, be another
story.
On to the review of Golden Bough. I have not heard this particular
group before but have heard many different folk groups at various
festivals in and around Indiana. If I am way off base criticizing the
review without hearing the album first, let me know! I don't think
that folk music should be reviewed in the fanzine for the simple reason
that it has NO ties to SF or Fantasy. There are appropriate mailing
lists where this kind of music is discussed and anyone who has been to
festivals such as I have mentioned can easily be signed up for said
lists.
Matt Verner
...!ihnp4!inuxc!verner
[A reply from Barb Jernigan, who wrote the articles in question]
Matt,
To defend Golden Bough, I very much *do* think it has a place in this
particular magazine. Golden Bough is audio fantasy -- in fact, I have
tentative plans (with the song writer's permission) to turn _Witch of
the Westmerlands_ (on the FLIGHT OF _FANTASY_ album) into an
illustrated story. This song *is* a fantasy tale, tighter than most
that ever reach paper, and versed in a much longer _oral_ tradition.
Golden Bough is obscure -- which is why I wrote the review. They
deserve to be well known. And Kicking Mule Records , the label the
albums are printed by, is national. I am also told that Golden Bough's
albums may be purchased at Tower Records.
Barb Jernigan
idi!oliveb!olivej!barb
[I published those articles was because I wanted to know whether or not
the readers were interested in them. The feedback has been favorable
so I would consider publishing more of that stuff in the future. One
thing I want to be able to do is work with an much of the Universe as I
can within OtherRealms, but I also want to limit that to the things
that the readers want. Please remember that I can't read minds. The
only way I find out what readers like is try things. The only ways I
know of for them to tell me what they think are (1) answering my
surveys, (2) writing me letters, and (3) canceling their subscriptions.
I consider (3) rather drastic, so please try the others first!
The other reason I published it was because I felt it does relate to SF
and Fantasy. You make the comment that things like Horror relate to SF
peripherally, but you also have to remember that SF relates to other
things, especially things in the areas of Science and Technology. It
is my belief, and this is backed up by talking to published and
successful SF authors, that to really understand SF, you have to also
understand the background used to build the stories. I find magazines
such as Smithsonian, National Geographic, and Scientific American very
useful in getting broad understandings of topics of interest -- topics
that show up later in SF stories.
Secondarily, a good percentage of the readers of OtherRealms want to
become writers. Magazines such as Smithsonian are critical resources
for writers, since it gives them a significant base of information on
lots of topics that they can then decide to use in their stories. This
means, in the long run, better and more accurate stories.
The folk group article is harder to justify on these grounds, of
course, but I thought that the readers would be interested in it. I
don't ever plan to make these kinds of 'eclectic' articles a mainstay
of OtherRealms. I DO plan to publish them once in a while, simply
because I feel it is important for people to look at new things and
grow a bit. How much of it I publish will depend upon things like (1)
how much other stuff I get that needs publishing, (2) how much positive
and negative feedback I get on the published articles and (3) how well
the articles I get are written.
chuq]
Chuq,
I felt you should know that there are actually four albums. Their
first album, called simply "The Golden Bough", is available only on
tape.
It is not a good recording, but has some good songs including one by
Paul called "The Wizard".
Pat McEvoy
sun!swagman
Masthead: The Necessary Administrivia
Masthead for OtherRealms
Volume 1, Number 4
May, 1986
This issue is Copyright 1986, by Chuq Von Rospach
All Rights reserved
OtherRealms is edited and Published on a monthly schedule by:
Chuq Von Rospach
160 Pasito Terrace #712
Sunnyvale, CA 84087
USENET: {major_node}!sun!plaid!fanzine
ARPA: fanzine%plaid@sun.ARPA
Fidonet: 125/84, user chuq vonrospach
CompuServe: 73317,635
Submissions: Submissions are welcomed at any of the above addresses.
Electronic mail is preferred, Macintosh format disks through U.S. Mail
will allow me to publish your work MUCH faster (returned with SASE).
Hard copy is accepted but will get keyed into the system when I get time.
A writers guide is available. If you want to write for OtherRealms,
please ask for a copy. Pico reviews are welcome from everyone.
Duplicate the format used in this issue and please limit your comments
to one paragraph. Multiple Pico reviews for the same work are welcome.
If you are on a BBS or other system that does not have access to the
above electronic addresses, contact your SYSOP about making
arrangements for a submission policy.
Letters to the Letter column: should be mailed to the above address.
Letters to an author should be mailed directly to the author where
possible. If you can't reach an author, I'll do what I can to get the
letter forwarded. All letters will be considered for publication
unless requested otherwise.
Deadline for submissions for the next issue is May 20, 1986.
This magazine is Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach. One time rights
only have been acquired from the signed or credited contributors. All
rights are hereby assigned to the contributors.
Reproduction rights: Permission is given to reproduce or duplicate
OtherRealms in its entirety for non-commercial uses if all associated
copyright notices and bylines are left intact. Re-use, reproduction,
reprinting or republication of an individual article in any way or on
any media, printed or electronic, is forbidden without permission of
the author or rights holder. Reproduction of subsets of an issue of
OtherRealms is permitted only if all bylines, copyright notices and the
masthead and table of contents areas are included in the reproduction.
Subscriptions: OtherRealms is available through the newsgroup
"mod.mag.otherrealms" on the USENET network. For those on the UUCP,
ARPANET, BITNET and CSNET computer networks without access to this
group, a mailing list subscription is available. Send mail to the
appropriate address above to be placed on the mailing list.
Subscriptions are not yet available on CompuServe. Please write me for
latest status.
OtherRealms is also available through the following bulletin boards:
SCI-FIDO, Fidonet number 125/84, (415) 655-0667.
The Terraboard, Fidonet number 14/341, (612)721-8967.
Other BBS systems or computer networks are welcome to make OtherRealms
available on their systems. Either copy it from an available location
or contact me to make arrangements. If you do make it available, I
would appreciate hearing about where it is being distributed.
Coming attractions
o The long promised Vampire Article got bumped by the Hugos, so it
makes it back into the coming attractions, threatening to
become a permanent running joke.
o An article on keeping a Journal on the road to becoming a writer as
Barb Jernigan returns to our pages.
o Pico Reviews and all the normal stuff.
o The Pico Review summary should show up next month as well,
summarizing the views of all Pico Review writers for the
previous few months.
o Tell us who should win the Hugo's! Send us Pico reviews or letters;
the Pico Review column will expand to accept comments on nominees from
all categories!
[Editor's note: If you wish to comment on Judy-Lynn del Rey, drop them
to me. I'll be publishing other appreciations next month, and I'll
make sure they get forwarded to Lester del Rey as well.]
source text file
Issue 5 — June 1986
Issue 5, Part 1, June, 1986
Article 8 of mod.mag.otherrealms:
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From: chuq@sun.uucp (Chuq Von Rospach)
Newsgroups: mod.mag.otherrealms
Subject: OtherRealms V1, #5 (Part 1 of 2) [June 1986]
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OtherRealms
A Fanzine for the Non-Fan
"Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life"
Volume 1, Number 5
June, 1986
Table of Contents
Part 1: The Features
The Fifty Page Factor
by Chuq Von Rospach, Editor of OtherRealms
The Care and Feeding of Journals
by Barb Jernigan
The Chronicles of St. Germain -- A Vampiric Look at the Past
by Chuq Von Rospach
Jack Vance the Marvellous -- Master of Science Fiction
by Gary A. Allen, Jr.
Review: The Kif Strike Back
by Alan Wexelblat
Review: Pawns And Symbols
by Kahless tai-Hazar
Part 2: The Columns
Pico Reviews
by Our Readers
Readers Survey: The Monthly Question to Our Readers
Letters to OtherRealms
by Our Readers
Editorial Notes and Comments on OtherRealms
by Chuq Von Rospach
Editorial -- The Fifty Page Factor
and Other Reviews
by
Chuq Von Rospach
Editor of OtherRealms
I've been working on a series of reviews for another zine and it once
again brings me to the question of how to tell if a book is good. It
is important to be able to tell, as objectively as possible, how good a
book is when you write a review of it.
I've found a couple of indicators that seem to be good indicators of
the quality of a book. I've used them for years, but I'm just now
sitting down and thinking about WHY they work.
The first is what I call the Fifty Page Factor. When I'm reading I hit
a point where I have to finish the book. Nothing will stand between me
and the ending, and if I do put the book down I think constantly about
how it will turn out. For an average book this happens between 40 and
50 pages from the end as the author starts building the climax. The
better the book, the earlier I decide I have to finish it. A good
alternative name would be the 3AM factor, named for all those people
caught reading a great book at bedtime.
Books that don't grab your attention hit the boundary later and later.
You're bound to run into books where you don't care if you ever finish
them, even after the last page is turned, and occasionally you'll run
into a book so bad you simply close it and refuse to finish it.
The second factor is the skip factor, and it comes in handy with
collections, anthologies, and other short fiction. A short work has to
grab you quickly. I find that if I'm a page or two into a story, and I
don't like it (or simply don't care) I just flip to the next work.
Most people already use these factors to some degree. I'm simply
trying to make you aware of them. Anything you can use to help judge a
work helps, and the more you become aware of how you are reacting to a
work, the better you'll be able to read and judge others writings.
THE CARE AND FEEDING OF JOURNALS
by
Barb Jernigan
oliveb!olivej!barb
Copyright 1986 by Barbara Jernigan
[MISS PRISM] I really don't see why you should keep a
diary at all.
[CECILY] I keep a diary in order to enter the wonderful
secrets of my life. If I don't write them down I
should probably forget all about them.
-- Oscar Wilde, "The Importance of Being Earnest"
How often have we been told the Importance of Keeping a Journal in
English classes? How many of us heeded that advice? Some perhaps had
the strength of will (or sheer perversity) to shape noting the details
of their lives into a daily habit -- the rest of us (if we tried at
all) proceeded nobly for a month or two, then allowed the urging to
slip back into the dark unknown from whence it crawled in the first
place. SHAME ON US, I say, SHAME ON US.
The language that never leaves our head is like colorful
yarn, endlessly spun out multicolored threads dropping into a
void, momentarily compacted, entangled, fascinating,
elusive. We have glimpses that seem brilliant but quickly
fade; we catch sight of images that tease us with
connections and patterns that too-soon flow on; we hold in
momentary view a comprehensive arrangement (insight) that
dissolves rapidly and disappears.
-- James Miller, "Discovering the Self"
I call this "Feeding the Ether" -- we've all experienced it. The flash
of insight, the brilliant turn of phrase, the exhilaration felt in the
spray of that giant waterfall. Yes, in our minds we waxed poetic --
maybe even attempted to scribe the the thoughts -- but then we were
distracted. The thoughts fled -- and we were left excusing ourselves.
"If it was _really_ important I'll be able to reconstruct it." Sure we
will, while the Ether grows fat on our cast off inspirations.
I'm as guilty as any. My best mind-time is the 45 minute commute to
and from work. In that particular instance, however, a journal isn't
quite helpful -- though sometimes I manage to hold a thought long
enough to write it down at journey's end. Often I get distracted upon
arrival, and the thought takes its leave. We can't salvage EVERYTHING
-- but it does challenge us to rescue what we can.
I must confess, I am an inconstant journal keeper. I tell myself that
I should spend at least half an hour every morning. My mornings should
be so organized. I compromise; half an hour every other morning. For
about three weeks. So, muttering about good habits, I squeeze a
paragraph or two here and there -- which is far better than nothing.
But you did not come to hear my excuses. Instead, let me discuss a bit
of the theory and practice of journal keeping.
The first question is obvious: "Why keep a journal in the first
place?" I have a chorus of responses. Two appear above; three others
echo the same sentiments.
I think we are well advised to keep on nodding terms
with the people we used to be, whether we find them
attractive company or not. Otherwise they turn up
unannounced and surprise us, come hammering on the
mind's door at 4 a.m. of a bad night and demand to
know who deserted them, who betrayed them, who is going
to make amends. We forget all too soon those things we
thought we could never forget.
-- Joan Didion, "On Keeping a Notebook"
Keep a journal... It keeps you in touch with your nether
regions... You'll find it useful after graduation to be
in touch with your arms, legs....
-- Robert Bly (poet), in lecture UCD
Begin by keeping a journal. Give your writing muscles
a vigorous daily workout. You'll also be compiling a
priceless source of ideas for later on. Record your
experiences and impressions, describe the people you
meet, capture bits of dialogue heard in passing, write
yourself notes on your greatest work-in-progress, your life.
-- Marshall Cook, "Training Your Muse"
WRITER'S DIGEST, March 1986
Yes, the pros stress the importance of journals. Your journal
chronicles your thoughts, your memories, that odd wisp of inspiration,
and, perhaps, a little history. You are not -- nor should you be, I
think -- limited to facts.
"Fine," you say, "so keeping a journal is important. Tell me something
new." There is nothing new to tell, except perhaps a bit of practice to
go with the theory, launching you on your way.
First, materials. Don't depend upon the electronic medium for your
journal. You are too dependent on a machine and the desk it sits
upon. I believe that there is some value in scribing your thoughts by
hand. The physical act of wielding pen to paper can give a sense of
weight to your words -- and it's highly portable. Thus material number
one is pen or pencil. Something that writes fairly smoothly -- you
don't want your ideas fighting clogged ink.
Material number two is, of course, the journal itself. There are a
great number of cutes journals commercially available -- from the
padded diaries (complete with key) of the adolescent girl to the latest
rash of illustrated, quote filled "blank books". I admit prejudice --
these things get in my way worse than a dried up pen. The first is a
bit too self-important, the others too much like writing in a Book with
my mother's voice telling me "Don't!" at every line. Spencer Tracy
used a day-timer calendar -- though that medium has severly limited
writing space. There are also real blank books. These are very nice
in that the hard binding provides a writing surface. I prefer a spiral
bound notebook. It lays flat, it has no delusions of grandeur, and it
is cheap. I've filled a couple theme-books as well -- a compromise
between the hard-bound blank book and the spiral notebook. But don't
let my prejudices dictate your personal taste -- just remember that the
medium should be an invisible partner to your entries. *Your*
thoughts, after all, are what the journal is about.
Which brings us to the gist of the matter, what to write? Everything!
Do not limit yourself to the dry retelling of the day's events --
though this is a useful exercise, it can become tedious, and our Muses
will retort, "Enough of that!" and distract us away. My journals are
scrapbook, diary, idea-database, story outline keeper, essay-book,
sketchbook, and whatever else fits my fancy at the moment. Some days I
meerly write, "I have nothing to say today, good bye!" An attitude
rebellious of the nature of the exercise, perhaps, but honest. Your
journal should not be drudgery -- if it is, give it up -- or rethink
what you're doing. Forcing yourself only builds resentment -- yours
and your Muses'.
[GWENDOLEN] I never travel without my diary. One should
always have something sensational to read in the train.
-- Oscar Wilde, "The Importance of Being Earnest"
You should never be without a journal -- or at least something to write
on. You never know when the Muse will strike -- and toilet paper is a
terrible writing surface. I've resorted to this; also napkins,
placemats, envelopes... -- believe me, proper paper is much easier.
You should read your journals periodically. Although the simple act of
writing things down gives them a measure of legitimacy, perhaps even a
more prominent position in memory, they remain Ether-food if you never
look at them again. Rereading is an exercise both pleasurable and
painful and rife with discovery. At worst, you now have a wonderful
character study; perhaps you learn something about yourself. But never,
never, never tear the pages, no matter how much you may want to. We are
none of us perfect -- our dark sides are as much a reminder of who we
would be as our light sides, and we must never forget that we have them.
[ALGERNON] Do you really keep a diary? I'd give anything
to look at it. May I?
[CECILY] Oh no. You see, it is simply a very young girl's
record of her own thoughts and impressions, and consequently
meant for publication.
-- Oscar Wilde, "The Importance of Being Earnest"
Finally, we have the matter of audience. Who has not read the diaries
of a famous person, such as Hugh Prather or Kahlil Gibran, and dreamed
a bit? Our journals should have so much substance, we think, and set
out to meet the high standard. WRONG! Remember that you're reading
highlights, polished by an editor's careful hand. That level of
self-consciousness cripples Muses. Creativity can be urged but never
forced. Even if you can't banish such thoughts of greatness entirely
from your mind, don't let them drive you. Your journal has one
intended audience -- you. You may choose to share it on occasion but
you must never forget who the journal is for. Like you, it will have
moments of absolute brilliance and days of unadulterated drivel.
That's okay. When writing in your journal, unless you have a specific
exercise in mind, don't even worry about spelling and grammar. Write
your ideas as they occur, go where they lead -- there will be plenty of
time for editing later. Strive for Honesty -- a goal more easily
attained if you don't expect anyone else to be reading your
meanderings.
To live an aware life, the individual must begin with
an awareness of self.
-- James Miller, "Discovering the Self"
That is the truest purpose of our journal keeping. Oh, our diaries
record, but through that record our journals track our emotional lives,
like footprints in the snow, for discovery and education -- or simple
sharing -- with ourselves, and, sometimes, with our fellow travelers
and those who come behind. More than memory, I see journal keeping as
a need to reach out from the isolation of experience -- if only to
ourselves through the ever-listening ear of the blank page. Our
journals should be our closest confidants, keepers of our dreams and
secrets, sharers of our hope and pain, chroniclers of our best (and
worst) ideas. Often, as children, we entertained an imaginary best
friend. Now, grown-up, our friend, too, has grown -- and is named
Journal. It is waiting to hear from you -- isn't it time you wrote?
FURTHER READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY
Borges, Jorge Luis. "Borges and Myself" in THE CONSCIOUS READER
Caroline Shrodes, Harry Finestone, and Michael Shugrue,
editors. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1974.
Cook, Marshall. "Training Your Muse". WRITER'S DIGEST,
March 1986 Didion, Joan. "On Keeping a Notebook" in
THE CONSCIOUS READER; Caroline Shrodes, Harry Finestone,
and Michael Shugrue, editors. New York: Macmillan
Publishing Co., Inc., 1974.
Gergen, Kenneth J. "Multiple Identity" in THE CONSCIOUS READER;
Caroline Shrodes, Harry Finestone, and Michael Shugrue,
editors. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1974.
Mallon, Thomas. A BOOK OF ONE'S OWN: PEOPLE AND THEIR DIARIES.
Thicknor & Fields (ref. "Reader's Report", WRITER'S
DIGEST, March 1986).
Marin, Peter. "The Open Truth and Fiery Vehemence of Youth."
in THE CONSCIOUS READER; Caroline Shrodes, Harry Finestone,
and Michael Shugrue, editors. New York: Macmillan
Publishing Co., Inc., 1974.
Miller, James E. "Discovering the Self" in THE CONSCIOUS READER;
Caroline Shrodes, Harry Finestone, and Michael Shugrue,
editors. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1974.
Proust, Marcel. "The Crumb of Madeleine" from SWANN'S WAY
in THE CONSCIOUS READER; Caroline Shrodes, Harry Finestone,
and Michael Shugrue, editors. New York: Macmillan
Publishing Co., Inc., 1974.
Wilde, Oscar. THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST. New York:
Signet Classic, 1985.
The Chronicles of St. Germain
A Vampiric Look at the Past
Chuq Von Rospach
Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach
All rights reserved
The Palace (St. Martins, 1978, 376 pages) [***]
Hotel Transylvania (St. Martins, 1978, 252 pages) [***]
Blood Games (St. Martins, 1979, 439 pages) [****]
Path of the Eclipse (St. Martins, 1981, 433 pages) [***]
Tempting Fate (St. Martins, 1982, 690 pages) [****]
The St. Germain Chronicles (Pocket, 1983, 180 pages) [**]
Certain myth structures can be found in almost any society. On the
side of light are the Gods and the myths of Creation. On the side of
darkness are those that cannot die, for whom the normal cycle of
humanity has been broken. This is the vampire, the undead,
immortalized by Bram Stoker in _Dracula_ as the penultimate evil --
that which steals the life from others to allow its own cursed
existence to continue. Worse, those that it steals the life force from
are then converted to its unholy existence, spreading this evil
further and further abroad.
Vampires seem to be returning to the limelight. Anne Rice is in the
bestsellers list with _Vampire Lestat_ and a number of other writers
have taken a crack at redefining the legend of the vampire. A very
well written series of books, not as popular as they deserve, is a
series of novels and stories about Count Ragoczy, Saint Germain.
In some ways, it isn't surprising that the books aren't more popular.
They aren't classical horror, they aren't supernatural books, and they
aren't really about vampires. The five novels (_The St. Germain
Chronicles_, the most recent book, is a collection of short stories)
are all historical romances that happen to have a vampire as the
protagonist. The books mix all three genre types quite well, but fit
in none completely. This makes the book set very difficult to market,
and is guaranteed to upset hard core readers in each.
The books, however, deserve to be read. Yarbro has taken a very
traditional form of the vampire mythos and humanized it. Stoker's
version of the myth was pure evil -- Dracula himself had no real
personality and little more cunning than a rabid wolf. St. Germain,
however, is flesh and blood, can love, can die, can fear death and can
inspire the reader to care about him.
To do this, Yarbro has humanized the mythos. A vampires bite no longer
turns you into a vampire, unless there are repeated exposures. The act
of taking nourishment is transformed from an act of horror to an act of
love and the blood is not the nourishment, the act is the nourishment.
Each novel stands alone, and each is a picture into a given time
period. Yarbro has done an amazing amount of research into each
society and makes it live well beyond the tale of the story or the
pages of the book.
Within the framework of the period, each story has a similar plot. St.
Germain is trying to do right for those around him and helping to make
things better. He falls in love with a mortal woman, the world falls
into chaos, he saves the day (to some degree), and disappointed with
short lived humans he moves on. No two plot twists are the same,
though, and Yarbro weaves a complex set of twists, subplots, and
complications so the books are never boring or repetitive.
Each book has its strengths, with _The St. Germain Chronicles_ the
weakest because it is set in modern times and the flavor of the
historical periods is missing. _The Palace_, the first book in the
series, is set in 15th century Florence, a time of Religious upheaval
and plague. This book is a study of the paranoia of the small, the
fear of different. His enemies fear him not for being a vampire, but
for being a newcomer. St. Germain, interested in peace and friendship,
is hounded by those who hate him and those who wish to use him simply
because he isn't one of them.
The second book, _Hotel Transylvania_, looks at decadent 18th century
France. Amid the conspicuous consumption of the upper class and the
terrible squalor of the poor, Yarbro weaves a fascinating tale of
horror as St. Germain tries to save a loved one from murder by a coven
of Satanists. A careful layering of the concept of evil is in place in
this book since the traditional vision of horror in the vampire is
shown to be significantly more human than most of the people around
him. This is a book that really sits you down and make you think about
your values. Many traditional thoughts and beliefs are turned upside down.
The third book in the series is _Blood Games_, set in ancient Rome
during the reign of Nero. This is the least accessible work in the
series; not because it is bad, but because it is almost too good. This
is the earliest work in the series timeline to date, and sets up a lot
of the background. The rendering of Rome and the decadence of Nero and
his citizens is gritty and detailed, realistic almost to the point of
nausea. You don't just read about the Coliseum. You experience it,
you can almost smell the death and see the blood and head the bloodlust
of the crowds. Yarbro has painted the picture of not just a person who
has lost his humanity (as in _The Palace_ ) but an entire society;
brutal, selfish, and less humane than the animals starved and thrown
into the ring for the satiation of the crowds. This is a very bleak,
depressing book with little hope. Getting through it is not easy, but
well worth the time.
_Path of the Eclipse_ is a change of pace. Set in China at the
beginning of the invasion by Ghengis Khan and the Mongols, Yarbro is
looking not at the decadence of surfeit or inhumanity, but of
stagnation. The Chinese culture has become so ritualized and formal
that it is dead. Things are done as they have always been done, and
the bureaucracy is there to guarantee it. As in the case when a
society faces change by ignoring it, this is a story of dissolution and
defeat. It is also a story of honor and courage, and an interesting
peek into the very different cultures of the East.
The final novel in the series is also the best. _Tempting Fate_ is set
in the time between World War I and World War II, in the ruins of
Germany. This is an area most history books and classes seem to
ignore, implying that WWI ended, Hitler sprung up and started WWII, all
in five pages of a single chapter. The truth is much different and
much more fascinating, and this book is a good introduction into the
foolishness of the Allies and the rise of the Nazis and their reign of
terror. Yarbro also breaks a major rule of writing and gets away with
it: she kills off a major character in a random killing.
By doing so, she puts St. Germain into a position she carefully avoided
through all of the previous books -- in the face of the inhumanity of
the Nazis, he becomes the traditional vampire; a machine of death,
motivated not by love or caring or the softer emotions of the previous
books, but by hate and pain and grief. It is a strong shift in
characterization, but it also underscores the true inhumanity of the
humans he fights.
Each of these books, and the society it portrays, presents a basic
fallacy of humanity: sloth, ambition, lust, greed. In each, Yarbro
uses the inhumanity of her focus, the vampire, to counterpoint the true
inhumanity of society. In this way, she is really making some
carefully hidden social commentary on all of us. On top of that,
though, are some really well written books; books that aren't really
fantasy, that aren't really horror despite the trappings. These books
that transcend any particular genre by choosing the best of each.
Jack Vance the Marvellous
Master of Science Fiction
Gary A. Allen, Jr.
ESG7@DFVLROP1.BITNET
Copyright 1986 by Gary A. Allen, Jr.
The following table is a list of all of the writings in book form by
Jack Vance. Included is my own rating for each book. Jack Vance has
been in the science fiction business for some time. He is widely
regarded as being in the top twenty of the world's best SF authors. In
the Netherlands, where Jack Vance has had the good fortune of being
well translated, he is the most popular science fiction author. Vastly
inferior authors have received far more acclaim than Jack Vance. This
is partially due to Vance himself. He is an intensely private man and
does not involve himself in much of the self promoting ballyhoo that
many of his science fiction colleagues have engaged in.
Those who have never read Vance and have no qualms about reading a
piece of pseudo-fantasy, should read _Rhialto the Marvellous_ , which
is his best book. In terms of straight science fiction his novel, _The
Dirdir_ is the best. However _The Dirdir_ is a component of the
_Tschai Series_ and should only be read in sequence with the other
novels of the series. His best nonfantasy work which is not a
component of a series is _The Last Castle_.
The most widely currently available novels by Vance are of the
_Lyonesse Series_. These novels are NOT recommended. Jack Vance is a
full-time professional author. The _Lyonesse Series_ represents an
unfortunate attempt at trying to cash-in on the current fad with
"swords and sorcery" fantasy. Jack is extremely good at writing novels
such as _The Dying Earth Series_, or the _Tschai Series_. Commercial
authors like Vance will continue to write things like _Lyonesse_ if
people buy them, so if you must read this sort of stuff please read a
used copy or a library copy.
A good book about Vance is: _Jack Vance_ by Tim Underwood and Chuck
Miller, Taplinger Publishing Co. 1980. I would also be interested in
establishing a dialog with other Vance fans on acquiring first edition
hard bound books by Jack Vance.
TITLE DATE PUBLISHED RATING (0-10, 10 = best)
(* = Not rated)
The Five Gold Bands 1953 3
The Languages of Pao 1957 8
Slaves of the Klau 1958 *
The Dragon Masters 1963 9
Future Tense 1964 *
The Houses of Iszim 1964 8
Son of the Tree 1964 7
Monsters in Orbit 1965 *
Space Opera 1965 5
The Blue World 1966 9
The Brains of Earth 1966 *
The Complete Magnus Ridolph 1966 4
Eight Fantasms and Magics 1969 *
Emphyrio 1970 9
Vandals of the Void 1970 *
The Gray Prince 1974 5
Galactic Effectuator 1976 6
Green Magic 1979 *
The Last Castle 1980 10
Big Planet Series
Big Planet 1952 *
Show Boat World 1975 9
The Alastor Series
Trullion: Alastor 2262 1973 8
Marune: Alastor 933 1975 7
Wyst: Alastor 1716 1978 6
The Durdane Trilogy
The Faceless Man (The Anome) 1973 9
The Brave Free Men 1973 7
The Asutra 1974 7
The Demon Prince Series
Star King 1964 8
The Killing Machine 1964 8
The Palace of Love 1967 6
The Face 1979 8
The Tschai (Planet of Adventure) Series
City of the Chasch 1968 9
Servants of the Wankh 1969 8
The Dirdir 1969 10
The Pnume 1970 9
The Dying Earth Series
The Dying Earth 1950 9
The Eyes of the Overworld 1966 10
Cugel's Saga 1983 9
Rhialto the Marvellous 1984 10
The Lyonesse Series
Lyonesse I: Suldren's Garden 1983 0
Lyonesse II: The Green Pearl 1985 *
On the rating system used a 6 or better is recommended.
Works with a 10 either received a Hugo/Nebula or should have. ALL of
Jack Vance's works including _Lyonesse_ are better than 99.9% of what
one would typically find for sale as Science Fiction.
Prizes Won by Jack Vance
1958 nominated for the Hugo The Miracle-Workers
1962 BEST NOVELLA Hugo The Dragon Masters
1966 BEST NOVELLA Hugo The Last Castle
1973 nominated for the Nebula Rumfuddle
1974 nominated for the Hugo Assault on a City
1985 nominated for the Nebula Rhialto the Marvellous
The Kif Strike Back
by
C.J. Cherryh
SFBC Edition, 256 pages, Daw Books, copyright 1985
Reviewed by
Alan Wexelblat
texsun!milano!wex
Copyright 1986 by Alan Wexelblat
[Spoiler Warning]
This book is the second (or third) in a series of three (or four,
depending on how you count). It has the same characters as _The Pride
of Chanur_, but C.J. insists in the Author's Note that "Kif" is
actually the middle of a trilogy that starts with _Chanur's Venture_
and will end with _Chanur's Homecoming_. However, this note is
contradicted by the introduction titled "In Our Last Episode..." and
summarizes both "Pride" and "Venture". I highly recommend this Author's
Note; it clearly explains why there are so many trilogies.
This is an excellent, adventure-packed book. The action is fast, and
the tension is high. Do not start reading it at 10PM unless you enjoy
missing sleep. Cherryh's aliens are truly alien and yet are
understandable. There is a bit too much alien dialogue in some places,
but it's never overwhelming. And Cherryh's depiction of a member of a
female-dominated society trying to overcome her anti-male prejudices
provide bits of comic relief.
The plot of "Kif" is hard to review, as I don't want to spoil things
for people who haven't read "Venture" yet. To those people, I say
"Persevere"! "Kif" is much less obscure and much more fun than
"Venture" and made plowing through "Venture" worthwhile. Now you can
stop reading as I am going to spoil things below.
"Kif" picks up with Pyanfar going after Hilfy and Tully, and follows
her though their rescue and into a tangled web of kif/stsho/han/mahe
plots. C.J. writes intrigue better than any other SF writer I can
think of, and she is particularly good at using these situations to
develop characters. In "Kif" we see the maturing of Hilfy and get a
much better idea of the relationships among the Pride's crewmembers.
In addition, the secondary characters grow as well; we see new sides to
Tully, Goldtooth, and Jik. We also get meet and know the kif Sikkukkut
and another kif, Skkukkuk, who is "given" to Pyanfar.
One warning: _The Kif Strike Back_ REALLY is the middle of a story. Nothing
is resolved; all the threads are run through to the next book. Readers who
like to see stories progress in neat steps may be disappointed. [****]
Pawns And Symbols
by
Majliss Larson
Pocket SF, ISBN 0-671-55425-5 $3.50
Reviewed by
Kahless tai-Hazar
{ucbvax,dual,lll-crg}!ucdavis!samira!kahless
Copyright 1986 by Kahless tai-Hazar
We have all seen Star Trek novels which introduce one female character,
who then proceeds to be romanced by a personality from Star Trek.
Examples of this genre are _Vulcan!_, in which Spock becomes a Peeping
Tom, and _The Wounded Sky_, where Scotty falls for a jellyfish. While
I had hoped for more from Majliss Larson's _Pawns and Symbols_, I
didn't get it. Here, our female gets to have sex with Commander Kang.
The plot seems to be taken out of a Harlequin romance novel. Kang
rescues Jean Czerny, a Federation Ag specialist assigned to Sherman's
Planet. She was supposed to give the Empire a new version of
quadrotriticale, to help alleviate a famine in the Empire, but she
conveniently has some sort of amnesia that prevents her from
remembering that she is supposed to turn over the grain. Instead, she
is whisked off to a magical Klingon Empire in which everyone speaks
perfect English. In short, we have lots of action, but no plot.
And that seems to be the main problem with the novel. Lots of action,
but much of it is totally unrelated to the plot. I could describe
several examples, but the best would have to be the famous episode in
which we are told that Klingons can't see the color red. The entire
episode has absolutely nothing to do with the central story, but is
merely a cheap and unsatisfying filler, like the whipped lard and sugar
filling of a Hostess Twinkie.
These fillers seem to indicate a story which is quickly written,
without enough regard to the basic principles writing. The story is
full of boring technical details and sensory details, but details like
the color of every single character's clothing seem trivial and
confused, pulling us back from feeling the story. Often, the same
sentences are repeated over and over again. For an example of this,
look at the second to the last sentence of the fourth paragraph on page
52, and the second to the last sentence in the second paragraph on page
55. I found that the author also intruded into her own story. She
constantly footnotes Klingonese words, apparently lacking the skill to
let us know what the words mean without telling us blatantly.
Unfortunately, what might have been an interesting exploration of one
possible Klingon Empire turned into the expected and the typical. If
you're looking for an Imperial read, try "Final Reflection" instead.
This magazine is Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach. One time rights
only have been acquired from the signed or credited contributors. All
rights are hereby assigned to the contributors.
Reproduction rights: Permission is given to reproduce or duplicate
OtherRealms for non-commercial uses. Re-use, reproduction, reprinting
or republication of an individual article in any way or on any media,
printed or electronic, is forbidden without permission of the author.
--
:From the lofty realms of Castle Plaid: Chuq Von Rospach
chuq%plaid@sun.COM FidoNet: 125/84 CompuServe: 73317,635
{decwrl,decvax,hplabs,ihnp4,pyramid,seismo,ucbvax}!sun!plaid!chuq
The first rule of magic is simple. Don't waste your time waving your hands
and hoping when a rock or a club will do -- McCloctnik the Lucid
source text file
Issue 5, Part 2, June, 1986
Article 9 of mod.mag.otherrealms:
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From: chuq@sun.uucp (Chuq Von Rospach)
Newsgroups: mod.mag.otherrealms
Subject: Re: OtherRealms V1, #5 (Part 2 of 2) [June 1986]
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Date: 29 May 86 18:27:38 GMT
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OtherRealms
A Fanzine for the Non-Fan
"Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life"
Volume 1, Number 5
June, 1986
Part 2: The Columns
OtherRealms Pico Reviews for June, 1986
ADVENTURES by Mike Resnick [**+]
Signet, 1985, $2.95, 239pp
Not really sf, but a spoof of old fashioned African adventure stories
in the style of Vance's Cugel the Clever. Dr. Lucifer Jones, an
unprincipled clergyman, roams about Africa making himself unpopular,
luckily winning fortunes and foolishly losing them. Moderately
amusing, probably better in small doses than all at once.
-- Peter Reiher
reiher@LOCUS.UCLA.EDU
ARCHY AND MEHITABEL by don marquis [*****]
anchor press, 1973, 189 pages, $4.50
archy and mehitabel is a series of poems written by don marquis as a
poet who reincarnated in the body of a cockroach named archy who writes
by climbing to the top of the typewriter and jumping down on the keys
head first this is why he cant do capital letters or punctuation but
the works are fun and a must for anyone interested in the english
language as an innovative tool for good storytelling
-- chuq von rospach
THE BEST OF H.P. LOVECRAFT: BLOODCURDLING TALES OF HORROR
AND THE MACABRE by H.P. Lovecraft [*****]
Del Rey, 1963, 375 pages, $6.95 trade paper
If you like horror, you need to read this book. If you hate horror,
read it anyway, since Lovecraft is one of the people who defined the
genre, and his views leak into work everywhere. It this stuff doesn't
give you nightmares, you're already dead.
-- chuq von rospach
BROKEDOWN PALACE, by Steven Brust [****]
Ace Fantasy, $2.95, 270 pages
Legend-like fantasy tale, set as one age ends and another begins, this
is the story of a royal family and how each of the four princes deals
with change. Kept me anxious to find out what would happen next -
quite a good trick for a book that was actually very little "action".
-- Mary Anne Espenshade
umcp-cs!aplcen!aplvax!mae
mae@aplvax.arpa
CLAY'S ARK by Octavia Butler [*]
This is the kind of book you want to like but can't. A spaceman brings
back a terrible disease and ends up in the Arizona desert trying to
contain the contagion. The story breaks down into moralizing, cartoon
characters, shopworn plot devices, and predictability. Butler has shown
promise in her short stories, but not here. Had she spent a little more
effort on understanding people rather than the pathology of a fictional
disease, it might have succeeded. I'm surprised Michael Crichton
("Andromeda Strain") hasn't sued her for plagiarism.
-- Davis Tucker
ihnp4!dhuri!dht
DAMIANO, by R. A. MacAvoy [****]
Bantam, $2.95, 243 pages
The story of a medieval Italian alchemist, learning to play the lute
from the archangel Raphael and willing to bargain with the Devil to
save his town from war. As an early musician in a recorder ensemble, I
especially liked the emphasis on music and the development of musical
style in all three books of this set. It reads more like a story of
medieval life where what we would consider fantasy is accepted fact
than like a "fantasy" tale.
-- Mary Anne Espenshade
umcp-cs!aplcen!aplvax!mae
mae@aplvax.arpa
DAMIANO'S LUTE, by R. A. MacAvoy [***]
Bantam, $2.75, 254 pages
The second part of Damiano's story is about his travels as an almost
ordinary mortal, devoting himself to his music. This is a much darker
tale, about the reality of medieval life with its threat of the plague,
with only a few fantasy elements.
-- Mary Anne Espenshade
umcp-cs!aplcen!aplvax!mae
mae@aplvax.arpa
THE DARK TIDE by Dennis L. McKiernan [*-]
Signet, 1984, $2.95, 303pp
The worst 40 pages I've read in years. I couldn't force myself to go
further, despite being on an airplane with no other reading material.
The feeblest of the Tolkein ripoffs, it makes "The Sword of Shanarra"
look like "The Lord of the Rings". Avoid at all costs.
-- Peter Reiher
reiher@LOCUS.UCLA.EDU
DEATHBIRD STORIES by Harlan Ellison [***+]
Bluejay books (SFBC edition) 295 pages
I disagree with Chuq about this being the best of the best of Ellison.
In fact, it's stories like these that earn Ellison his rep as a
depressing writer. By all means buy it, but don't read it if you're in
a bad mood, and don't read more than one story at a time.
--Alan Wexelblat
wex@mcc.arpa
DOOMSTALKER by Glen Cook [***]
Questar, 1985, $2.95, 264pp.
I was extremely impressed with Glen Cook's Black Company books.
"Doomstalker" isn't nearly as good, but it's acceptable. At first it
seems fantasy, but it soon proves to be sf. An intelligent, non-human
race keeps a vast portion of its populace in primitive conditions,
while psionically powerful members go to the stars. But, in this first
volume of a trilogy (what else?), dangerous, disruptive forces are on
the move. Cook's fondness for increasingly cataclysmic battles is well
displayed (two in this volume, more promised).
-- Peter Reiher
reiher@LOCUS.UCLA.EDU
ENDER'S GAME by Orson Scott Card [**]
Very few short stories make good novels, just as very few pencil
sketches make good paintings. Card essentially includes the novella
that was his first sale and wraps it with more words, and not
particularly good ones. A letdown, especially from a writer who stands
so far above the crowd.
-- Davis Tucker
ihnp4!dhuri!dht
THE FALLING TORCH by Algis Budrys [****]
Written a long time ago, this book is still a fascinating twist on the
standard theme of "one man army saves Earth from invaders and becomes
leader" story. Budrys is well-known as a reviewer for F&SF, but not so
prolific as a writer, which is a shame. His grasp of characterization
is firm, and his sympathy for the weak-willed is strong without being
pitying. The main surprise in this novel is that he would have written
it in such a deliberately non-surprising mode. And yet it is not
disappointing as so many novels that begin with the death of the main
character are. His portrayal of Michael Wireman, the awkward, gangly
adolescent who becomes savior of Earth is first-rate, and certainly not
heroic as so many of these kinds of characterizations can be; no one in
this novel, not even the invaders, is heroic or unflawed. His
description of the society of Earth's government-in-exile, a group of
old men who are now waiters, chefs, and tailors, is cutting, precise,
and redolent of the society of White Russian emigres in Paris in the '20s.
-- Davis Tucker
ihnp4!dhuri!dht
FANTASY WARGAMING by Galloway et al [***]
Stein and Day, 1981, 291 pages
Fantasy wargamers and authors will enjoy this book. The book is a
series of articles and discussions that go through the mechanics of
building a dungeon -- a wargaming universe. A useful tool for anyone
who has to put together an entire society from scratch.
-- chuq von rospach
GALAPAGOS by Kurt Vonnegut [****-]
Delacorte, 1985, 184 pages
Vonnegut is a very frustrating writing. He intentionally manipulates
the English language, forcing you to not only deal with the social
satire of his work, but with the structure used to present it. Here,
the premise is that humanity's big brains are hindrances to survival.
He proves the point by sending some people to the Galapagos Islands
(where Darwin came up with evolution) and evolving them. He tells this
by talking about future events that haven't yet happened a million
years ago, using a narrator that doesn't exist. It works, but it isn't
easy for the reader, and the satire is much closer to the sledgehammer
of _Slaughterhouse Five_ than the scalpel of _Cat's Cradle_. You'll
like it, but you won't enjoy it.
-- chuq von rospach
GALAXY: THIRTY YEARS OF INNOVATIVE SCIENCE FICTION
edited by Fred Pohl et al [***]
Playboy Press, 1980, 490 pages including index to entire
series of Galaxy magazines
An instant remainder book, collecting in one place a lot of stories
well worth reading and probably familiar from one of the premier SF
magazines of its time. A real addition to SF fans is the index of
material from all of the issues of Galaxy.
-- chuq von rospach
IT CAME FROM SCHENECTADY, by Barry B. Longyear [***]
Popular Library, $3.50, 312 pages
Schenectady is, of course, where SF writers get their story ideas. The
dozen stories in this book don't bear any resemblance at all to
Schenectady, but instead tend more towards the cute or bizarre. In
these stories, Longyear shows himself to be a master of the cute ending
and shows imagination in handling situations that would boggle at least
my mind, but usually falls short when it comes to character development
and setting. A great book if you are looking for a fast read, but don't
expect richness or depth.
-- rick floyd
rochester!rick
IT CAME FROM SCHENECTADY, by Barry B. Longyear [**]
Popular Library, $3.50, 312 pages
Barry Longyear writes well, but I found myself more interested in his
commentary on the stories than the works themselves. None of them are
bad, simply none of them really interested me enough to care. He is a
writer I guess I just don't click with.
-- chuq von rospach
THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION -- A 30 YEAR
RETROSPECTIVE edited by Edward L. Ferman [***]
Doubleday, 1980, 310 pages
An "instant remainder" book, this is a collection of some of the best
short works to be published in the magazine Fantasy and Science
Fiction. Many of these are already familiar to you; the real advantage
of this kind of book is that it collects them all in one place until
you need them to read or reference.
-- chuq von rospach
MAGIC KINGDOM FOR SALE: SOLD! by Terry Brooks [*]
Del Rey, 1986, 324 pages, $16,95
Terry Brooks' first non-Shannara story. Hopefully his last.
Lackluster and underexecuted plot about a rich person who buys himself
a kingship in a fairy wonderland where the plumbing doesn't work and
the followers don't follow. Very slow to start, since fully a third of
the book is simply getting the guy into the kingdom, and at the end
(with the obligatory opening for a sequel) the best I could come up
with was a hearty "who cares?" I certainly don't.
-- chuq von rospach
MAGICIAN: APPRENTICE
MAGICIAN: MASTER
by Raymond E. Feist [*****]
Bantam, 1982, 689 pages total, $3.50 each
These two books comprise the paperback version of the book _Magician_.
They do not stand alone, so read them together. They are the single
best piece of Fantasy I have read in many years, and are the first book
in a trilogy. These books are on a par with few other works and can
hold their heads up to _Lord of the Rings_ with pride. A must read for
ANY Fantasy reader.
-- chuq von rospach
MYTHICAL BEASTIES edited by Asimov et all [***]
Signet Fantasy, 1986, 343 pages, $3.50
Number six in Isaac Asimov's Magical World of Fantasy anthology set, it
holds a collection of good (but not necessarily great) works involving
different fantastic animals. Good light reading. Nothing classic, but
nothing rotten, either.
-- chuq von rospach
NERILKA'S STORY -- A PERN ADVENTURE by Anne McCaffrey [****]
Del Rey, 1986, $12.95
This is a rather short (40,000 words) work that takes a closer look at
one of the minor characters of _Moreta_. If you haven't read that
book, this one will make no sense; it doesn't stand alone, and is much
closer to an epilogue than a story of its own. Still, it is a very
warm and well written story, it tells a very small part of a very big
story in a close and personal way, and it really made me care and like
for Nerilka. A very fine addition to the world of Pern, and a good
appetizer for the upcoming Dragonrider book.
-- chuq von rospach
NEUROMANCER by William Gibson [****]
Good, maybe even great. Reminds one of the mature John Brunner, without
the preachiness, and of the Bester of "The Stars My Destination".
Gibson captures that grittiness that made film noir popular, portraying
the seamy underside of technological advance in a manner that would
make Raymond Chandler proud. But more than that, beyond his obvious
talent at writing crackling dialogue and fascinating plots and creating
wonderful characters at the drop of a hat, is the ring of utter,
terrible truth in his writing. This society takes no effort at all to
believe, because it is so wonderfully extrapolated, so well thought
out. It's also very depressing, but then so is the real world, often.
It is rare in science fiction circles these days to deal with the
immediate, forseeable future; Gibson has brought the relevance back.
-- Davis Tucker
ihnp4!dhuri!dht
NEXT OF KIN by Eric Frank Russell [****]
"Next of Kin" is the original, novel-length version of a story more
commonly known as "Plus X" (and to confuse things further, an expanded
version of "Plus X" entitled "The Space Willies" was also published).
Our Hero, John Leeming, takes off on a spy mission equipped with: an
experimental long-range spaceship; a wrongminded collection of survival
supplies (including the most dubious handweapon I've every heard of);
an extremely inventive imagination; and absolutely no respect for
authority (human or otherwise). When captured, his only chance for
escape is to completely bamboozle his captors, and he does a dilly of a
job. My fiancee could tell I liked the story: she poked her head into
the room every few minutes to find out what I was giggling at. Highly
recommended for an evening's light reading!
-- Dave Platt
Dave-Platt%LADC@CISL-SERVICE-MULTICS.ARPA
NORSTRILLA by Cordwainer Smith [**+]
Ballatine, 1975, $2.95, 275pp
Smith wrote great short stories, but a mediocre novel. Lots of ideas
floating around, not too well integrated. The story is only moderately
compelling. The prose is ambitious beyond Smith's talent, in places; in
others, very standard sf writing.
-- Peter Reiher
reiher@LOCUS.UCLA.EDU
THE POSTMAN, by David Brin [****]
Spectra/Bantam, $15.95, 294 pages
In my mind, David Brin's best novel to date. The U.S. has degraded
into a dark age after a limited nuclear war. One man posing as postman
creates a myth of a "Restored United States" and attempts to pull
together fragments of civilization. A fast paced, thinking book. My
choice for the awards this year.
-- Mike Rossow
ihnp4!umn-cs!rossow
THE PRINCESS BRIDE, by the Immortal S. Morgenstern [****]
"abridged" by William Goldman, 1973, Ballantine
WHAT HAPPENS when the most beautiful girl in the world marries the
handsomest prince in the world -- and he turns out to be a
son-of-a-bitch? Fencing (my favoritest fencing scene in all the world
is in this book). Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge.
Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes.
Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave
men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion.
Miracles.... A MUST-READ for anyone who enjoys a good yarn -- and loves
to chuckle, chortle, guffaw, and belly-laugh.
--Barb Jernigan
idi!oliveb!olivej!barb
RADIX by A. A. Attanasio [NO RATING]
A very difficult book. Inconsistent, and his themes are very obtuse and
in the final analysis have very little to say about the human
condition. But his initial concept is very, very different - that at
some point in the not-too-distant future, Earth and the solar system
come into the focus of a light source from the center of the galaxy
which alters space-time and is also the main highway for all kinds of
beings who are creatures consisting of light only. Attanasio has
written a post-relativity novel - he really does internally understand,
without blinking, the ramifications of quantum theory and relativity on
the day-to-day world. He also has quite a flair for the wild, and
incorporating the trappings of the existing world in this essentially
magical novel. The novel unfortunately spends too much time being "New
Age" and preachy about the universality of the All to be highly
recommended, but it has some very obvious and definite strengths.
-- Davis Tucker
ihnp4!dhuri!dht
RAPHAEL, by R. A. MacAvoy [****]
Bantam, $2.75, 230 pages
The third part of Damiano's story includes him in only a small role,
concentrating instead on Raphael's battle with Lucifer and the
sacrifices he makes for his mortal friends. I liked this one better
than Damiano's Lute; though the story contains many negative events, it
never gives in to the defeated tone of the second book.
-- Mary Anne Espenshade
umcp-cs!aplcen!aplvax!mae
mae@aplvax.arpa
RED AS BLOOD, OR TALES FROM THE SISTER GRIMMER
by Tanith Lee [****+]
Daw books, 1983, 186 pages
A collection of stories that rewrite the traditional fairy tales.
Little Red Riding hood with a werewolf for a grandmother? There are
all very well thought out and pay homage to the original tale without
ruining it. Well worth finding and reading.
-- chuq von rospach
RETIEF AND THE PANGALACTIC PAGEANT OF PULCHRITUDE
by Keith Laumer [*-]
Baen Books, 1986, 278 pages, $2.95
Another bad book from Baen, a publishing house rapidly becoming known
for works to avoid. This isn't only bad Retief, it isn't even NEW
Retief. Most of the book is recycled from _Retief's Ransom_. If you've
read much Retief, you've probably read this already. Avoid.
-- chuq von rospach
SAILING TO BYZANTIUM by Robert Silverberg [****-]
Underwood-Miller, 1985, 114 pages.
Silverberg demonstrates the value of conciseness. The 114 pages use
big type, so the book is only about 40 normal pages. The story is set
in the far future, when, for pleasure, the inhabitants of Earth
recreate cities of the past. Many authors would produce 300
overstretched pages, Silverberg gives us 40 interesting ones. Well
written, good plot, poor value for $12.95, though. Get it from a library.
-- Peter Reiher
reiher@LOCUS.UCLA.EDU
THE SECOND SELF by Sherry Turkle [***+]
Simon and Shuster, softbound
While not a Science Fiction book (indeed not a fictional book at all!)
this is nonetheless quite fascinating reading for people who are
interested in how people react to, deal with, and learn to accept
computers. Dr. Turkle (of MIT) did extensive research into a number of
different areas of computing, including seeing how young children
accept and react to computers and computer-based toys (quite
fascinating and revealing), how older children use computers as either
an outlet for their creativity or desire for social 'ranking', to how
college students become "midnight hackers" and the peculiarities of
that particular subculture and finally the future directions of
computing, specifically AI, and how that will affect our ethical and
moral views of life and intelligence. To be honest, it does read a bit
slowly at places, but overall it's well worth reading.
-- Dave Taylor
taylor@hpldat.arpa
SO LONG, AND THANKS FOR ALL THE FISH, by Douglas Adams [*+]
Pan, 191 pp, 1.95 UK pounds
When Doyle wanted to stop writing Sherlock Holmes stories, he tried
killing off Holmes. This did not work. Perhaps Adams is trying another
approach to the same problem: he brings back the characters, and the
earth (and we meet the girl in the cafe in Rickmansworth), and after that,
there is a lot of mostly nothing. There are flashes of the HITCH-HIKER
trilogy style that we know and love, but they are too dispersed.
-- Mark Brader
ihnp4!utzoo!lsuc!msb
THE SONGS OF DISTANT EARTH by Arthur C Clarke
ISBN 0-345-33219-9
Not as substantial or inspiring as some of his better books. I found
it a bit disappointing. There are several plot features that are just
left hanging, and the story would have been just as good had they been
omitted. It is a repeat of the meeting of cultures that has occurred
in South Pacific and elsewhere, in a new setting. The cultures and
characters are believable and interesting, and the writing (vs editing)
is good, so enjoy this as light entertainment reading.
-- Rob Horn
decvax!wanginst!infinet!rhorn
Snail: Infinet, 40 High St.,
North Andover, MA
STARQUAKE by Robert L. Forward [*-]
Del Rey, 1985, 246 pages
A very bad sequel to a very good book, Forward forgets all that made
_Dragon's Egg_ a winner and forgoes the hard SF for social commentary.
The Cheela build a society with all the faults and foibles of humanity
and make all the same mistakes. Unfortunately, I simply couldn't buy
it, since the Cheela got too human for my tastes, and put it down
without finishing it. Forward should stick to what he is good at --
gadgetry and hard SF, and leave the real characters for the experts.
-- chuq von rospach
TEA WITH THE BLACK DRAGON, by R. A. MacAvoy [****]
Bantam, $2.95, 166 pages
Computers, music and eastern mythology wrapped into an adventure,
wonderful! A dragon reading Knuth - no wonder this book got such good
reviews on the net. MacAvoy's skill is in giving a conventional story
a fantasy flavor with almost no traditional "fantasy" elements. As the
Damiano books are stories of medieval life with a little fantasy
included, this is a present day detective story with the fantasy found
only in whether you believe what the main character says about himself.
-- Mary Anne Espenshade
umcp-cs!aplcen!aplvax!mae
mae@aplvax.arpa
TIK-TOK by John Sladek [****]
I picked this up somewhat randomly, always on the lookout for a book
dealing with computers/etc in an intelligent fashion and this turned
out to be quite an interesting offering from a new British author!
There is a considerable amount of metaphysical rambling hidden in this
book in a pleasing, readable form. Tik Tok is a robot that questions
his value in society and, amusingly enough, deliberately breaks the
"three laws" equivalent to see what it's like.... so we have this
bizarre robot wandering around lying, murdering people and generally
wreaking havoc all the while thinking about his 'sensations' during the
events. It's really highly original and quite recommended!!
-- Dave Taylor
taylor@hpldat.arpa
WITH A TANGLED SKEIN by Piers Anthony [***]
Del Rey, 1985, 280 pages
The third Incarnation in Immortality book, it looks at Fate and its
interactions with Satan and the mortal world. Significantly better
than the previous _Bearing an Hourglass_ but not as good as _Riding a
Pale Horse_, my biggest gripe is that the latter part of the book tells
the same plot as the first book. Once this becomes obvious, a lot of
suspense is lost and the ending comes off flat.
-- chuq von rospach
UNIVERSAL TRANSLATOR, ed. Susan Bridges
$2.75/issue, quarterly
Universal Translator is an indispensable resource for the zine
collector. Nominated for a fanzine Hugo this year, UT is a ~50 page,
quarterly listing of internationally available and proposed zines in
~30 SF/media categories. It also lists upcoming conventions,
"classified ads" on fannish topics, public statements from zine editors
and readers and has a zine review section. Most of the zines listed
here primarily print fiction, but there is also a column listing
letter/information zines. The current issue is #30, I've been a
subscriber since #4. If you're looking for a particular zine or have
some fan fiction you want to publish, this is a great place to get
information, if you just want to find out what zines are, browsing
through an issue will tell you a lot about the variety available.
-- Mary Anne Espenshade
umcp-cs!aplcen!aplvax!mae
mae@aplvax.arpa
WRITERS OF THE FUTURE, VOLUME 2 edited by A. J. Budrys [****]
Bridge, 1986, 390 pages, $3.95
The second volume of winners from the Writers of the Future contest
sponsored by the late L. Ron Hubbard, the stories are just as good as
those in the first book and most are very professional works. All of
the authors show great promise, and should be watched for in the
future. Least successful were the commentary by the famous authors
used to spice up the cover -- most were short and trivial, and the
space could have been better used by another unknown.
-- chuq von rospach
Reader's Survey for June, 1986
I'm going to take a break from asking specific questions this month.
The standard questions apply as always, though: What do you think was
best about the issue, and what was the worst?
* * *
Reader's Survey Report for May
1) Should OtherRealms publish fiction?
2) If so, what percentage of the magazine should be used for fiction?
3) Assuming that OtherRealms stays the same size, what parts would you
remove to make room?
4) Would there be interest in a second magazine for fiction?
5) Should the Pico reviews be split out into a separate magazine to make
room for other stuff, or should they be cut back (or left alone)?
All of these questions are inter-related, and so I'm going to look at
them that way. Almost everyone expressed an interest in seeing fiction.
Actually, most people specifically mentioned that they were interested
in seeing GOOD fiction. At the same time, few people wanted to see some
part of OtherRealms go away to make room for it. Most of the answers
were some variation of "Well, if I HAVE to..."
The offshoot of all of this is that there is a lot of support for a new
OtherRealms fiction magazine. From my point of view, though, I want to
wait on a second magazine for a number of reasons. First, and
foremost, is the simple fact that I don't know if there is enough
publishable fiction to support it. Another reason is that there is a
fair amount of work creating and maintaining a zine, and I don't want
to go through that until I'm sure that it is worth it (twice, that is.
I did it happily on faith with OtherRealms, but I'd rather build on
what I have if I can). A final reason is that I believe the prime
distribution net for OtherRealms (USENET and the UUCP networks) is
quite unstable and about to go through a number of significant changes
over the next few months, and I don't want to commit to something that
might get washed out by these changes until I see what happens.
I am still interested in fiction, though, and I plan to start using
fiction in a special section to OtherRealms as soon as I work out the
details. Please don't submit fiction yet! I'll let you know when I'm
ready for it.
I think we are in a position where everyone can win. The new
OtherRealms format gives me a setup where I'm not constantly trading
everything off each other for space, I can bring in fiction without
giving anything else up, and I'm not forced to go through the hassles
of a second publication setup. All of this is possible in great part
because of the feedback and suggestions I've gotten from people out
there -- the readers. Thanks, and keep up the good work. Remember, no
matter how good the magazine, the articles and the reviews, without the
readers they're nothing.
6) What about OtherRealms on paper?
The interest was mixed to negative here -- as I expected the market for
a paper version of OtherRealms is a different one from the electronic
version. I may well do this anyway (dreams of being the next Locus...)
but not for a while. There is still enough to learn about doing a good
magazine on the networks that I don't need any new challenges.
7) Anyone interested in an OtherRealms T-Shirt?
More Yes votes than I expected, frankly. I may well do one, when I can
track down a good idea and a good artist to help out. A piece of
obscurity to wear to the next Worldcon!
Favorite/Least Favorite articles.
There wasn't a clear cut favorite this month, although both the
editorial and my delRey piece got a lot of favorable comments. The
four Dave Berry reviews were, in retrospect, overkill in a single
issue, and a number of readers nicely pointed out that I should have
spread them out over a number of issues. With hindsight, I agree, and I
should have substituted something else.
OtherRealms Lettercol -- June 1986
Chuq,
Was the adaptation of Lord of the Rings the BBC one with Ian Holm as
Frodo? If not, there's another for you. The BBC have done several
enjoyable SF/fantasy productions. The adaptation/reading of Foundation
was, for me, more enjoyable than the book. The Hordes of the Things
was an amusing spoof of the genre. Earthsearch (somewhat hackneyed,
with self-serving computers) had a nice twist at the end that I didn't
suspect till the final episode, but then I never identify the murderer
in Agatha Christie stories...
Stephen Withers,
ACSnet: stephenw@murdu
UUCP: {seismo,mcvax,ukc,ubc-vision}!munnari!murdu.oz!stephenw
ARPA: munnari!murdu.oz!stephenw@seismo.css.gov
CSNET: stephenw%murdu@munnari.oz
Chuq,
Had a chance to chat with Robert Asprin at a recent tiny con here in
Austin. He said that he's contracted to do 6 more Myth books, and
hinted that the new ones will be quite different. He's grown
dissatisfied with Aahz and Skeeve, claiming that they're "dangerously
close to being not funny any more." So he's going to switch around to
other characters; at least one of the new ones will be told from
Gleep's point of view. Personally, I think he can pull it off. The
Myth books are short, and the topic is broad. By and large he also
manages to avoid the repetition and cuteness that turned me off of
Xanth several books back.
--Alan Wexelblat
wex@mcc.arpa
Chuq;
Issue 1.4 of OtherRealms contained two pairs of reviews, each covering
a book and a sequel to it. In one case, it happens that I have already
read both books. Because I have, I know that the second of the pair of
reviews contains a major spoiler of the first of the pair of books. I
would ask the reviewers to be more careful about such cross-spoilers in
the future. I would ask Chuq for a policy statement about spoiler
reviews in general.
Mark Brader
{ decvax | ihnp4 | watmath} !utzoo!lsuc!msb
[I agree with Mark that spoilers should be avoided whenever possible.
They aren't always possible, as my editorial on Callahan's Bar in V1.4
showed -- there was no way to get my points across any other way coherently.
Spoiler reviews should be (and will, from now on) marked as such so
that those haven't read the books yet can skip them. That is part of
my function, and I'll do what I can to make sure that you are warned in
the future. In general, I think a review that summarizes plot is a
lazy review, and if you find yourself doing that you should take a step
back and rethink what you are doing. It doesn't mean it is wrong, just
that you have to be aware of what you are doing. I'll be watching for
this more carefully in the future, and if I think a review can have the
spoilers removed, I'll ask the author for a rewrite.
-- chuq]
Editorial Notes and Comments on OtherRealms
The More Things Change Dept:
OtherRealms has mutated again. Between the comments I've gotten from
various people and my growing frustration with the enforced 50Kbyte
size limitation I've done some re-arranging. OtherRealms now comes in
two pieces: the first part contains the articles and other one time
editorial material, and the second part the columns.
This gives me more room and a lot more flexibility. I can now fit in
one or two more articles a month without having to squeeze things. I
don't have to worry about Pico Reviews pushing out the rest of the
magazine. I can worry more about the information in the issue than the
number of bytes I use to send it to you.
This also paves the way for other special features. I have a few
projects on the burner that would have potentially taken the editorial
space of an entire issue before; now I can simply make that a special
addition to an existing issue without taking away space from other
things. The Pico Review Index will be a special section. I expect
OtherRealms will average between 65 and 80,000 bytes for the forseeable
future, but some issues may well push 150,000. We now have in place a
way to deal with that kind of growth choking OtherRealms.
* * *
One of my hesitations in doing this before now is the issue of
protecting Copyrights and allowing the author to retain control of
their work. I now feel confident that a work published in OtherRealms
has an enforceable Copyright, and so I'm going to remove the
restriction on publishing fiction.
* * *
Errata: In the last issue, I accidently renamed Carl Gutekunst when
attributing his Pico review. My apologies to him and his parents, I
think his spelling is much superior to mine.
Masthead: The Necessary Administrivia
Masthead for OtherRealms
Volume 1, Number 5
June, 1986
This issue is Copyright 1986, by Chuq Von Rospach
All Rights reserved
OtherRealms is edited and Published on a monthly schedule by:
Chuq Von Rospach
160 Pasito Terrace #712
Sunnyvale, CA 84086
USENET: {major_node}!sun!plaid!fanzine
ARPA: fanzine%plaid@sun.COM
Fidonet: 125/84, user chuq vonrospach
CompuServe: 73317,635
Submissions: Submissions are welcomed at any of the above addresses.
Electronic mail is preferred, Macintosh format disks through U.S. Mail
will allow me to publish your work MUCH faster (returned with SASE).
Hard copy is accepted but will get keyed into the system when I get time.
A writers guide is available. If you want to write for OtherRealms,
please ask for a copy. Pico reviews are welcome from everyone.
Duplicate the format used in this issue and limit your comments to one
paragraph. Multiple Pico reviews for the same work are welcome.
If you are on a BBS or other system that does not have access to the
above electronic addresses, contact your SYSOP about making
arrangements for a submission policy.
Letters to the Letter column: should be mailed to the above address.
Letters to an author should be mailed directly to the author where
possible. If you can't reach an author, I'll do what I can to get the
letter forwarded. All letters will be considered for publication
unless requested otherwise.
Deadline for submissions for the next issue is June 15, 1986. Survey
responses will be taken to about June 25, 1986.
This magazine is Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach. One time rights
only have been acquired from the signed or credited contributors. All
rights are hereby assigned to the contributors.
Reproduction rights: Permission is given to reproduce or duplicate
OtherRealms in its entirety for non-commercial uses. Re-use,
reproduction, reprinting or republication of an individual article in
any way or on any media, printed or electronic, is forbidden without
permission of the author.
Subscriptions: OtherRealms is available through the newsgroup
"mod.mag.otherrealms" on the USENET network. For those on the UUCP,
ARPANET, BITNET and CSNET computer networks without access to this
group, a mailing list subscription is available. Send mail to the
appropriate address above to be placed on the mailing list. Subscriptions
are not yet available on CompuServe. Please write me for the latest status.
OtherRealms is also available through the following bulletin boards:
SCI-FIDO, Fidonet number 125/84, (415) 655-0667.
The Terraboard, Fidonet number 14/341, (612)721-8967.
Other BBS systems or computer networks are welcome to make OtherRealms
available on their systems. Either copy it from an available location
or contact me to make arrangements. If you do make it available, I
would appreciate hearing about where it is being distributed.
--
:From the lofty realms of Castle Plaid: Chuq Von Rospach
chuq%plaid@sun.COM FidoNet: 125/84 CompuServe: 73317,635
{decwrl,decvax,hplabs,ihnp4,pyramid,seismo,ucbvax}!sun!plaid!chuq
The first rule of magic is simple. Don't waste your time waving your hands
and hoping when a rock or a club will do -- McCloctnik the Lucid
source text file
Issue 6 — July 1986
Issue 6, Part 1, July 1986
OtherRealms
A Fanzine for the Non-Fan
"Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life"
Volume 1, Number 6
July, 1986
Table of Contents
Part One
SF Magazines: Full of Great Hors D'Oeuvres
by James Brunet
Wizenbeak
by Danny Low
The Sorcery Within
by Chuq Von Rospach
A Jungle of Stars
by Alan Wexelblat
Guest Editorial: HR3389
by Leigh Ann Hussey
Part Two
Pico Reviews
by Our Readers
Part Three
Editorial -- Pros and Cons
By Chuq Von Rospach, Editor of OtherRealms
OtherRealms Lettercol -- July 1986
by Our Readers
Notes and Comments on OtherRealms
by Chuq Von Rospach
SF Magazines: Full of Great Hors D'Oeuvres
by
James Brunet
hplabs!hao!ism780b!jimb
Copyright 1986 by James Brunet
Have you ever enjoyed a meal, or snacked at a party, contenting yourself
splendidly with bite-sized bits of gourmet appetizers instead of a full-blown
meal? If so, you might also enjoy the contents of SF's magazines, which
provide a veritable delicatessen of science fiction and fantasy.
Many SF readers limit themselves to novels and indeed, there are many
fine novels published each year. But there are a number of reasons
that reading the SF magazines can bring great delight.
Variety. Each of the major SF magazines -- ANALOG, ASIMOV'S, F&SF, and
AMAZING -- has five to twelve stories. New authors and old, short
stories and novellas, stories with different themes and emphasises, all
in the same magazine. Do you find your SF reading habits getting into
a rut? Read a few issues of some of the magazines and you will add new
"favorite" authors to your list.
Catching the newcomers. I first read a David Brin novelette in
ASIMOV'S several years ago, long before STARTIDE RISING catapulted Brin
to fame. That novelette, along with a subsequent one, was the basis of
THE POSTMAN, which is on this year's Hugo ballot. By reading the
magazines, you can notice when a new author who bears watching comes on
the scene -- most writers begin learning their craft and business by
writing short stories before graduating to novels -- and seeing award
winning novels begin to take form.
Quality. Arguably, some of the best SF writing and story-telling is is
appearing in the magazines. The maturing of the field and the intense
competition may be responsible, but for whatever the reasons, any
reader who misses the magazines is missing a lot of good stories.
True, Sturgeon's law does apply, and in each issue there are several
stories that a reader may be indifferent about, but over the course of
the year you are also likely to encounter many outstanding pieces.
Miscellany. In addition to the stories, most magazines have features of
general interest. Con listings, giving information about SF conventions.
A good range of book and reviews; some of the reviewers include Harlan
Ellison, Norman Spinrad and my favorite, Algis Budrys. Science fact
articles. Puzzles. Editorials. All the grist of science and SF.
Which one? Okay, you've decided to give the magazines a try. Assuming
that reading time and money are limitations, which magazine is for you?
ANALOG is the linear descendant of ASTOUNDING, the John Campbell-edited
magazine that was the bedrock of the field in the 30's and 40's. Its
focus is hard science fiction, with very little in the way of stories
that do not contradict science as we now understand it. In some ways,
this limitation manifests itself in a moderate number of stories with
the same "feel," but it is the magazine that I breeze through most
quickly every month. Authors typical of those appearing in ANALOG
include Frederick Pohl, David Brin, Harry Turtledove, and Charles Harness.
ISAAC ASIMOV'S SCIENCE FICTION MAGAZINE (ASIMOV'S) is currently the
most literary of the magazines, publishing well-crafted ambitious
stories. The content ranges from hard science to fantasy to stories
that are at the broadest reaches that can be defined as SF. Roger
Zelazny, William Gibson, the ubiquitous David Brin, Lucius Shepard, and
Kim Stanley Robinson are among those who have appeared in ASIMOV'S
recently. My opinion is that many of the *best* short SF is appearing
here; certainly that opinion is supported by the number of stories from
ASIMOV'S nominated for Nebula and Hugo awards.
FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION (F&SF) is the now the grand old lady of the
field, being the magazine with the longest continuous publication with
the same name. F&SF tries for a mix of science fiction and fantasy but
seems to run more of the latter. The stories are always well written,
but of all the magazines F&SF seems to run into the "sameness" of feel
problem most often, e.g., lots of contemporary spooky stories. Brian
Aldiss, Greg Benford, Hilbert Schenk, and Ian Watson are some of the
authors who have appeared here recently.
AMAZING is the weak sister of the Big Four, having by far the lowest
circulation and a very erratic quality. AMAZING has no connection with
the AMAZING STORIES television series, save for the fact that they
rented their name. Owned by TSR, the wonderful folks who introduced
Dungeons and Dragons, AMAZING has traditionally aimed at SF readers in
their teens and early twenties, a fact that showed up in the flimsiness
and splashiness of a lot of their stories. Still, they seem to be
improving as of late and a recent editorial change may help further
still. Somtow Suchartikul, among others, has published in AMAZING.
A few words about other SF magazines. OMNI has one to three stories
per issue -- it's main orientation isn't fiction, though several of its
stories are on this year's Hugo ballot. Fiction editor Ellen Datlow
has promoted herself as the "queen of punk SF." FANTASY BOOK is a
semi-pro magazine that has also been on the rapid rise in quality. It
has featured the work Paul Edwin Zimmer, Esther Freisner, Leigh Ann
Hussey, and yours truly.
If you like good SF, I hope you will sample some of the magazines and
find at least one or two that are right for you. There's a lot of good
readin' in them thar pages.
Wizenbeak
by Alexis A. Gilliland
Blue Jay Books $8.95 279pp
[***]
Reviewed by
Danny Low
hplabs!hpccc!dlow
Copyright 1986 by Danny Low
Long before Gilliland became a very good professional author, he was a
very good fan artist whose cartoons appeared frequently in many
fanzines. One of Gilliland's favorite cartoon characters is a bumbling
wizard, Wizenbeak. This book is supposedly about that cartoon wizard
but the Wizenbeak of the book is quite a different character than the
Wizenbeak of the cartoons.
Nevertheless, this is a very good book. There are two plotlines in this
book that converge in the last third of the book. The first plotline is
about Wizenbeak's efforts to establish a colony in an arid portion of
the kingdom of Guhland. The second plotline is about the palace
intrigues over the succession to the throne as the king is quite old
and has not designated a formal heir. The palace intrigue is the more
interesting story lines. The Wizenbeak story, however, has more
sympathetic characters. The Guhland society is an eclectic mixture of
medieval European and medieval Japanese cultures. The book contains
some very nice Tim Kirk artwork.
The ending was too abrupt. It could have gone on for a couple of more
chapters. There should be a sequel because so many interesting things
are only hinted at in this book. What will happen to Princess Marjia?
What are the dragons like? This book leaves me yearning for more; a
sign of a well done book. Despite the high price, this book is
worthwhile reading.
The Sorcery Within (A First Novel)
by
Dave Smeds
[****+]
Ace Fantasy, 291 pages, $2.95
Reviewed by
Chuq Von Rospach
If this book is any indication Smeds has a long and prosperous career
ahead of him. This isn't just a good first novel, this is one of the
finest pieces of Fantasy I've read in the last few years.
Twins on a quest in the desert to the Holy City of Setan. An assassination
attempt in Cilenhrodel. A Kingdom besieged by the invaders of the Dragon.
These seemingly independent plotlines weave their way through the book,
and it is only when Smeds is ready to tell you do the interrelationships
become apparent and the plotlines merge. His manipulation of the time sense
and plot of the novel is superb, and the way he warps your expectations to
do his bidding would put a master storyteller to shame.
The main plotline of the story centers on Elenya and her brother Alemar
on their quest for Setan. They are set upon by Bedouins for stealing
water and then adopted into the clan. Never fully a part of the clan,
they are trusted but watched, and watchful for the opportunity to move
on. The desert society is portrayed in great detail, the everlasting
struggle for survival at the edge of nothing.
The plot is never forced and never rushed. The book moves forward
quickly, but at a pace that is perfect for the story being told. The
characters are real and they never act differently than they ought to.
Smeds knows how to build tension into the work, and when to release is
with humor or tears. This book is as close to perfect as you are going
to find, and everything comes together in a perfect meshing of words.
Two minor problems tarnish the book. First, the cover shows two bedouins
riding a pair of beautiful horses. Nice as they are, there are NO horses
in the book -- the bedouins ride something that looks vaguely like a mule
deer. You can't blame Smeds for this one -- he'll happily point it out to
you. The artist, Kevin Johnson, didn't bother to read enough of the story
to do an accurate cover. Ace should have caught it.
The other is the ending. It isn't a true ending, but a stopping point,
crying for a sequel. This book is good enough that I'm looking forward
to the next one, but the climax really didn't and the reader is left
somewhat hanging. The finish isn't bad, but it could have been stronger.
Don't let that stop you, though. Read this book. It deserves your time.
A JUNGLE OF STARS
by Jack Chalker
Ballantine Books, 1976, 217 pages
ISBN 0-345-28960-9
[***]
Reviewed by
Alan Wexelblat
ut-sally!im4u!milano!wex
This book is actually three novellas woven together and it suffers some
as a result. The first novella is about the horrors of the Vietnam war
and what being there can do to people. The second is a detective story
with an SF twist about hunting down a parasite that can take over not only
its host's body but also the minds of others. The third story is about a
conflict between good and evil, neither of which is defined in human terms.
Protagonist Paul Savage is a soldier-turned-immortal-detective. He is
involuntarily drafted into an aeons-old conflict between the last two
members of a race called the Kreb. The Kreb have evolved into a higher
life form leaving behind a villain and a hero called The Bromgrev and
The Hunter. Savage is recruited by the Hunter but is not sure which is
the hero and which the villain. Much of the story revolves around how
he plays their game(s) and is used by them.
Many of the familiar Chalker themes are present: souls, people changing
bodies while retaining identity, games-within-games, etc. There's also
some good space-battle scenes and some fairly good aliens.
What's wrong with it, then? Lack of continuity, for one thing. The
stories are woven together poorly, with lots of jumps. In several
places we shift from following Paul to following others so that side
characters can get introduced and developed. This is confusing and
distracting. It also makes the book too long. From the detective
standpoint, the key clue is one sentence quite near the end of the
book, which always annoys me. It also needs some tightening; it's too
wordy in some places, too skimpy in others.
However, on the whole it's a good book, especially if you're a
confirmed Chalker fan. I tend to like the themes that Chalker deals
with, and the ending was fairly well done, which is important both for
the detective story and for the good/evil conflict story.
Guest Editorial: HR3389
by
Leigh Ann Hussey
lah@miro.berkeley.edu
Copyright 1986 by Leigh Ann Hussey
I would like to bring to your attention a certain bill now in the House
Ways and Means Committee. This is House Resolution 3389, also known as
the Walker Bill, a bill designed to deny tax exemptions to groups
involved (or purported to be involved) in Witchcraft. Since there are
already are safeguards to prevent the granting of tax-exemption to
dangerous groups, this bill serves no *legitimate* purpose. Rather, it
will give to the tax courts the power to judge what is a religion and
what is not, it will be a first step on the way toward designating a
state religion, and will be a staggering blow to the Bill of Rights.
The bill's history is fraught with underhanded dealing; suffice it to
say that only the title was read into the Congressional Record, and
Brad Hicks of St. Louis, MO, had a struggle in getting the text of the
bill from any source. The bill has been awaiting an opening on the
Ways & Means Committee schedule; as of 15 May, the two biggest items of
business for this session were finished. This means that HR3389 could
come up for debate and vote in committee any time now. Since Brad went
to so much trouble, let us have the content of the bill here:
``H.R. 3389. A bill to deny tax exemptions to, and income tax, estate
tax, and gift tax deductions for contributions to, religious organizations
having a substantial interest in the promotion of witchcraft.
(a) Section 503 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (relating
to requirements for exemption from tax on corporations,
certain trusts, etc.) is amended by adding at the end
thereof the following new subsection:
"(h) RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS SUBSTANTIALLY INTERESTED IN
THE PROMOTION OF WITCHCRAFT.--
"(1) IN GENERAL.--Notwithstanding subsections (b)
and (c) of section 501, any religious or apostolic
organization which has as it's primary purpose the
promotion of witchcraft or which has a substantial
interest in the promotion of witchcraft shall not
be exempt from taxation under section 501(a)."
"(2) DEFINITION OF WITCHCRAFT.--As used in this
subsection, the term "witchcraft" means the
purported use of --"(A) power derived from evil
spirits; "(B) sorcery; or "(C) supernatural powers
with malicious intent."
(b) The following provisions of such Code are each
amended by striking out "508(d)" and inserting in
lieu thereof "503(h), 508(d),": (1) Section
170(f)(1). (2) Section 2055(e)(1). (3) Section
2522(c)(1). (c) The amendments made by subsections
(a) and (b) shall apply with respect to taxable years
beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act.''
What this means is that any group that, in a judge's opinion, "worships
evil spirits", or "uses supernatural powers", any group that is even
ACCUSED of these things, will lose their tax status. Various groups
that have large areas of land dedicated to religious retreats, like
Circle Sanctuary, will be hit with huge property tax bills, and will
likely have to shut down.
In addition, this means that, for example, Catholics may come under
such a law -- after all, they use "supernatural powers" to engage in
ritual cannibalism, no? Of course, no Catholic would agree with such a
statement, and of course it could never happen in the United States.
But remember, we are not dealing with Catholics. Indications are that
the State Religion would be some form of Protestantism (after all, all
those Saints, and that Mary, they're just gods --er-- *devils* in
disguise, right?). And as for "it could not happen here"? Well, Jews
said that in Germany about the Holocaust just before WWII...
Following up the references to the Internal Revenue Code reveals that
this bill is making no attempt to disguise what it really is: an
attempt to restrict religious freedom. If the bill is reported out of
committee, it has a chance of passing on the floor. I think anyone who
values his/her "inalienable rights" should join with me in trying to
squash this thing before it even gets to the greater House. It is
important that we make a statement to our lawmakers: "We will not let
you treat our rights so nonchalantly, and we ARE paying attention!"
Here are some things to remember in writing to the Committee members,
and to Congresspeople. Handwritten letters are more impressive than
typed (and especially word-processed!) letters. They suggest to the
readers that the hand behind the letter really is an individual, that
the letters they are getting are really from thousands of people, not
just a noisy minority. Along these lines, be personal also. Don't
send petitions or form-style letters (though you can probably safely
send the same letter if you're sending one to every Committee member
and if the letters are handwritten; they are not likely to compare
notes), and use your own words.
It is best to be brief -- these folks are busy (or believe they are); a
couple of arguments stated clearly, firmly, and *politely* will have
more impact than five pages of documentation. Here are a few arguments
to get you started: it's unconstitutional, it's unconstitutional, and
it's unconstitutional! (Not to mention being immoral and ill-advised).
It is not necessary to mention that you are a pagan (if you are), nor
to point out the supposed long history of the religion, or even to
illustrate its harmlessness. Approach the Congresspeople as a constituent,
a voter, a well-informed citizen; this is much more impressive to them.
Write to Congresspeople, the Committee members, your local newspapers;
bring this to the attention of local religious groups and churches (as
I pointed out, the bill's arguments could conceivably apply to many
religious groups, not just Wiccan ones). And write to Circle's Pagan
Strength Web with the texts of any letters you send, copies of any
responses you receive, and clippings of any local newspaper coverage
the bill may generate; they are maintaining a master file of Pagan Rights
activities and responses, for future reference (yes, similar legislation
will appear when this one has been forgotten, as it has in the past, and
we need to react with equal speed and firmness each time). Their address
is: Pagan Strength Web, c/o Circle, Box 219, Mt. Horeb, WI 53572.
Finally, here are the addresses of all 38 members of the House Ways &
Means Committee. I urge you all to write, to spread the word, to show
Congress that they can't play these kinds of games with us. Thank you.
THE SPONSORS OF H.R. 3389
CONGRESSMAN OFFICE ADDRESS
Robert S. Walker (D-Penn.) Rayburn, 2445
Author, 9/19/85
Joe Barton (D-Tex.) Longworth, 1017
Co-sponsor, 11/14/85
THE HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE
CONGRESSMAN OFFICE ADDRESS
Dan Rostenkowski (R-Ill.) Rayburn, 2111
Committee chairman
Beryl Anthony, Jr. (R-Ark.) Longworth, 1117
Bill Archer (D-Tex.) Longworth, 1135
Carroll A. Campbell, Jr. (D-S.C.) Cannon, 106
William J. Coyne (R-Penn.) Cannon, 424
Philip M. Crane (D-Ill.) Longworth, 1035
Hal Daub (D-Neb.) Longworth, 1019
Brian J. Donnelly (R-Mass.) Cannon, 438
Byron L. Dorgan (R-N.D.) Cannon, 238
Thomas J. Downey (R-N.Y.) Rayburn, 2232
John J. Duncan (D-Tenn.) Rayburn, 2206
Ronnie G. Flippo (R-Al.) Rayburn, 2334
Harold E. Ford (R-Tenn.) Rayburn, 2305
Wyche Fowler, Jr. (R-Ga.) Longworth, 1210
Bill Frenzel (D-Minn.) Longworth, 1026
Richard A. Gephardt (R-Mo.) Longworth, 1432
Sam Gibbons (R-Fl.) Rayburn, 2204
Willis D. Gradison, Jr. (D-Oh.) Rayburn, 2311
Judd Gregg (D-N.H.) Cannon, 308
Frank J. Guarini (R-N.J.) Rayburn, 2458
Cecil (Cec) Heftel (R-Hi.) Longworth, 1034
Andrew Jacobs, Jr (R-Ind.) Longworth, 1533
Ed Jenkins (R-Ga.) Cannon, 217
James R. Jones (R-Ok.) Cannon, 203
Barbara B. Kennelly (R-Conn.) Longworth, 1230
Robert T. Matsui (R-Cal.) Cannon, 231
Raymond J. McGrath (D-N.Y.) Cannon, 205
W. Henson Moore (D-La.) Rayburn, 2183
Don J. Pease (R-Oh.) Longworth, 1127
J. J. Pickle (R-Tex.) Cannon, 242
Charles B. Rangle (R-N.Y.) Rayburn, 2330
Marty Russo (R-Ill.) Rayburn, 2233
Richard T. Schulze (D-Penn.) Rayburn, 2201
Authored similar bill!
Fortney H. (Pete) Stark (R-Cal.) Longworth, 1125
William M. Thomas (D-Cal.) Cannon, 324
Guy Vander Jagt (D-Mich.) Rayburn, 2409
_________
NOTE: All of the above can be reached at the addresses shown. For example,
Dan Rostenkowski, Rayburn, 2111 becomes:
The Honorable Dan Rostenkowski
Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2111
Washington, D.C. 20515
====
Leigh Ann Hussey has published in FANTASY BOOK. She is an currently
working on a novel set in a maritime Shamanistic culture. She is
married and living in the Berkeley area.
This magazine is Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach. One time rights
only have been acquired from the signed or credited contributors. All
rights are hereby assigned to the contributors.
Reproduction rights: Permission is given to reproduce or duplicate
OtherRealms in its entirety for non-commercial uses. Re-use,
reproduction, reprinting or republication of an individual article in
any way or on any media, printed or electronic, is forbidden without
permission of the author.
source text file
Issue 6, Part 2, July 1986
OtherRealms
A Fanzine for the Non-Fan
"Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life"
Volume 1, Number 6
July, 1986
Part 2
Pico Reviews
by
Our Readers
Ratings:
[*****] A classic, must read book
[****] Well above average, don't miss
[***] A good book, probably worth reading
[**] Book has its moments, but is flawed
[*] Not recommended, flawed
[] A book to avoid
ALWAYS COMING HOME by Ursula K. LeGuin [****]
Harper & Row, $24.95
Cultural anthropology of a small California society during a period
long after a nuclear holocaust (which is only strongly implied).
Tales, songs, poems, and tidbits, written as if the author was an
anthropologist contemporary with the setting. Well done, and certainly
quite novel work by the daughter of a famous anthropologist (K. is for
Kroeber). Not for the faint hearted; needs to be read in small
chunks. Also carries a hefty price tag (circa $20).
-- Jeff Myers
uwvax!uwmacc!myers
THE ANARCHIST COOKBOOK by William Powell [not rated]
Lyle Stuart, $19.95 (paperback)
If you can find a copy of this book, buy it. If you do, however,
you'll probably end up on the FBI subversive list. This book contains
step by step instructions for everything from growing marijuana and
purifying peyote to building bombs and blowing up bridges. The
politics are ludicrous, but the information is a godsend for an author
trying to figure out whether a character can make something that will
blow up. Almost everything in this book is illegal, and it was written
specifically to help foster an Anarchist Revolution (whatever that is)
but it can be a real hoot and a real help at the same time. (Kids,
don't try this at home....)
-- chuq von rospach
BEYOND SANTUARY by Janet Morris []
Ace Fantasy, $2.95
The first of the _Thieves' World_ novels, now out in paperback. The
first third is pulled almost verbatim from stories in the anthologies.
The second third is so slow and terribly boring I didn't read the third
third. By far the worst book in the series so far, readable only by
_Thieves' World_ completists and addicts. Avoid.
-- chuq von rospach
BEYOND THE VEIL by Janet Morris [***]
Baen Books [SFBC]
Much better than _Beyond Sanctuary._ Not really a sequel, you can read
and enjoy this without plowing through the first novel. Santuary is
left behind, and you follow Tempus into new adventures and intrigue in
a land called Tyse, which is just as nasty and disgusting a city as
Sanctuary was. An average book in the series.
-- chuq von rospach
THE BLUE SWORD by Robin McKinley [****]
Berkley Books, 248 pp., $2.75
THE BLUE SWORD is a marvelous fantasy adventure story set in a
non-existent land that I strongly identify with Kipling's
India/Afghanistan. The plot is actually very straight forward, with an
innocent foreigner caught up in events beyond her control, and
eventually becoming the hero of the day. Maybe it was the
characterizations, maybe it was the vivid descriptions, maybe it was
the use of animals as full-fledged characters. In any case, THE BLUE
SWORD is on of the best reads I've savored in a long time. Enjoy!
--Russ Jernigan
oliveb!olivej!barb
THE BLUE SWORD by Robin McKinley [****]
Berkley Books, 248 pp., $2.75
THE BLUE SWORD is a great read, though I'm not sure I'm as passionate
about it as Russ. McKinley's is an engaging style, full of likable,
believable, FUN characters (human and non-human). Her female
protagonists and I share the same soul (even if they're not _all_
red-heads)(!). The plots are the stuff of faery-tales, straight from
the bow to the target. No profundities here, just a rollicking good
tale well told. Enjoy!
--Barb Jernigan
oliveb!olivej!barb
THE BURNT LANDS by Richard Elliot []
The second novel by Richard Geis and Elton Elliot, this is the sequel
to _The Sword of Allah_. This is a post apocalyptic suspense novel
interesting mostly to those who appreciate excruciatingly bad writing,
obligatory sex, lame plotting, and pulpish characters. Authors should
definitely study this book as an example of what to avoid.
-- chuq von rospach
CIRCUIT by Melinda Snodgrass [**]
Berkeley 1986
Politics and politicians against a backdrop of Lunar and Lagrangian
colonies. The earthbound politicians do all they can to cramp the
free-living colonists so it's no surprise when even the patriots turn
their backs on Terra. This will probably be in the running for the
Prometheus award, solely on its consistent anti-government bias. The
writing isn't up to the award, though.
-- Hibbert.pa@Xerox.COM
COUNT ZERO by William Gibson [****+]
Arbor House, 1986
Set in the same future as _Neuromancer_, but with much better characterization
(Case was too depressing for me). One of the things I like most about
Gibson's stories are that things never work out the way the protagonists
planned. In _Count Zero_, three separate plots weave into one, and the
three protagonists get caught up in events beyond their control. Something
strange and ominous is happening in the grid, because of the seed planted
in _Neuromancer_. A strong candidate for the Hugo/Nebula.
-- Brian Yost
infopro!bty!yost
THE EARTH BOOK OF STORMGATE by Poul Anderson [***+]
Berkley, 1978
This is a collection of reprinted short stories from the Polesotechnic
League series with a narrator added to make it resemble a single story.
The quality is good with occasional stars. "Margin of Profit" and
"The Man who Counts" are classics, but then I like Merchant-Prince
Van Rijn's free market methods. If you like stories that depend on
reasoning out the point of misunderstanding between cultures or engineering
a solution to a complex problem, then this collection is for you.
-- Hibbert.pa@Xerox.COM
EMPRISE by Michael P. Kube-McDowell [***]
Berkley, 304 pages, $2.95
The writer's blurb concluding EMPRISE says this is the author's first
novel. All that I can say is that it sure was a good first try! The
book opens in the Post-Holocaust genre. It is not nuclear war in this case
but the collapse of technology. The remainder is a first Alien contact
story. Some interesting surprises throughout. By the way, the cover
reads "Book one of the Trigon Disunity", but fear not! No cliff-hanger
here. A good read.
--Russ Jernigan
idi!oliveb!olivej!barb
ENCHANTED APPLES OF OZ by Eric Shanower [****]
First Comics, $7.95
A graphic novel format book with an original OZ story about the apple tree
that contains the magic that sustains OZ. Art is based on early edition
woodcuts from Baum books, and is rather well done throughout with the
exception of Dorothy. The story is interesting and stays well within the
OZ universe and feel. Like most graphic novels, it is more graphic than
novel with a typically short storyline, but is enjoyable all the same.
-- chuq von rospach
FREE LIVE FREE by Gene Wolfe [**]
1985, Tor, 403 pp, $15.95
This is Wolfe's experiment at writing a comedy/detective novel, though
the cover blurb describes it as a "major work of science fiction" and
doesn't even hint that it's a comedy. The first 50 pages start out as
a serious mystery, with fascinating, sharply defined characters. It
gradually turns into a comedy, and the characters become less real as
it descends into slapstick. The ending is SF, and though far-fetched,
manages to tie everything together. This bears little resemblance to
Wolfe's other books, and I didn't find the comedy that amusing.
-- George Walker
tektronix!tekig4!georgew
FREE, LIVE FREE by Gene Wolfe [*]
Tor 1984
A Prometheus Award Nominee. This is not good Gene Wolfe. There's a deus ex
machina ending and it revolves more around the occult than SF. I did like
the characters though--they're probably the reason for the nomination.
-- Hibbert.pa@Xerox.COM
LIAVEK: THE PLAYERS OF LUCK by Will Shetterly and Emma Bull [****]
Ace Fantasy, $2.95
The second book in the Liavek series, a collaborative novel/anthology
in which different authors share the same universe in a tangled
storyline. As such, it is very similar to the _Thieves' World_ series,
but in my eye it is much better. _Thieves' World_ is very dark and
depressing; Liavek is a more balanced society and a lot more fun to be
part of. Definitely a series to watch for.
-- chuq von rospach
THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE by Phillip K. Dick [****]
A witty and thought-provoking novel about US society under the
assumption that the Axis won WWII. The interesting thing about this
one, aside from the excellent characterizations and Dick's terse style,
is that it is really a novel about two books: the ancient Chinese
oracle, the I CHING, and about itself! A good introduction to Dick if
you haven't read any.
-- Jeff Myers
uwvax!uwmacc!myers
MISS MANNERS' GUIDE TO EXCRUCIATINGLY CORRECT BEHAVIOR [*****]
by Judith Martin
Warner Books, $12.50 (paperback)
Miss Manners is truly from an Alternate Universe. This book is chock full
of the things you always wished Dear Abby would have the nerve to say.
-- chuq von rospach
THE MOTE IN GOD'S EYE by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle [****+]
Pocket Books, 560 pages, $3.50
MOTE may just possibly be the best treatment ever of the first contact
between mankind and alien. The alien culture and physiology is not a
form of slightly warped human but is... ALIEN. The human culture in
MOTE is equally interesting as the aliens'. For those of you who have
never read MOTE, do. For those that already have, it loses nothing
upon rereading. GREAT BOOK!
--Russ Jernigan
idi!oliveb!olivej!barb
MYTHAGO WOOD by Robert Holdstock [****+]
Arbor House, 1984. $14.95 (hardback, also in paperback)
Well written, with an original premise. A magic wood in England has
the ability to materialize mythic stereotypes from the subconscious of
those who explore it, but holds unexpected perils. Holdstock
skillfully weaves many strands from British and Celtic mythology into
something resembling a unified whole, with numerous intentional loose
ends. Not quite carried off to the point of greatness, but head and
shoulders over most of today's stereotyped fantasy.
-- Peter Reiher
reiher@LOCUS.UCLA.EDU
RE-ENTRY by Paul Pruess [*]
Bantam Books, 212 pp., $2.95
A "paradox of time travel" book. The protagonist figures out a way to
go back into the past in order to change his own past life.
Predictably, the results are not what he hoped for. A rather preachy
book with no outstanding plot or writing.
--Russ Jernigan
idi!oliveb!olivej!barb
RHIALTO THE MARVELLOUS by Jack Vance [**+]
Baen Books, 1984, 219 pp, $3.50.
A substandard Dying Earth book, advertised as a novel but actually composed
of two longish short stories (both weak) and a novella (fair). The main
character isn't very interesting, and the world is less vividly painted
than before. Looks like it was written solely because Vance knew it would
sell. But Vance still writes well, and it's amusing in parts.
-- Peter Reiher
reiher@LOCUS.UCLA.EDU
SCIENCE MADE STUPID by Tom Weller [*****]
Houghton Mifflin Company, $6.95
Hugo nominee for Non-fiction this year, it should win running away.
This is despite the fact that it doesn't really qualify as
non-fiction. It doesn't really qualify for any Hugo category, but it
should win something! A truly deranged look at the world around us, it
blows away everything from Astronomy ("Plane of the Eclectic") to
Archaeology ("The Cretinous Era"). Includes instructions for building
your own nuclear power generator to keep your hot tub warm, and the
definitive answer to Creationism versus Evolution.
-- chuq von rospach
THE SNOW QUEEN by Joan D. Vinge [*****]
Dell books, 1980, $3.95, 536 pp
From the title and the cover blurbs, it's OBVIOUS this is just a
fantasy/romance, which I avoid like the plague. But Chuq gave it his
highest rating, so I decided to take a look. What can I add to Chuq's
review except "don't judge a book by its cover"? This has the plot
complexity of Herbert, the character development of of Le Guin, and the
imagery of Wolfe. Classic.
-- George Walker
tektronix!tekig4!georgew
SON OF IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT compiled by Scott Rice [***+]
Penguin Books, $4.95
The second volume of the best worst opening sentences written, this is
a collection of entries to the Bullwer-Lytton contest. This volume is
weaker that the first, mainly because it only had one year of the
contest to choose from. You have to read these things to believe
them. Truly bad, truly funny. Truly worth tracking down.
-- chuq von rospach
SPACE FOR HIRE by William E. Nolan [**-]
International Polygonics, Ltd. $4.95
This is an Edgar (Mystery Writers Nominee) by the author of _Logan's Run._
The lead character is Sam Space, private eye, which would lead you to
believe it is a SF parody of hardboiled detective novels. It is a good
parody of detective novels, but a lousy piece of SF, and I couldn't finish
it. Someone with a stronger stomach for SF cliches will probably love it.
-- chuq von rospach
SPEAKER FOR THE DEAD by Orson Scott Card [****+]
Tor, 1986
In this sequel to _Ender's Game_, Ender Wiggin, the hated Xenocide,
gets a chance to repay his debt to humanity. Ironically, Ender is also
the revered Speaker for the Dead, though no one knows his true
identity. Ender travels to Lusitania, the home world of the piggies,
the first sentient alien race contacted since the buggers, in order to
try to save them from humanity. Card's characters are so moving that
this book was an emotional experience for me. He'll have you crying
for the piggies... if you liked _Ender's Game_ (as I did), you'll
*love* _Speaker for the Dead_. There's also an interesting lead in for
the next Card novel. My choice for the Hugo (so far).
-- Brian Yost
infopro!bty!yost
STAR SURGEON by Alan E. Nourse [***+]
Ace, 170 pp., $2.95
This is a reprint of the 1959 novel. Basically intended for the young
adult market, the plot revolves around a young man trying to make his
career in an alien society. Racism and self- reliance are the
underlying themes. A favorite of mine when I was growing up, I found
it just as enjoyable after delightedly discovering the new edition in
the bookstore recently.
--Russ Jernigan
idi!oliveb!olivej!barb
STAYING ALIVE by Norman Spinrad [*****]
Donning, $5.95
This is the definitive practical guide to survival as a writer. A
collection of Spinrad's series of articles in Locus by the same name,
Spinrad tells you everything you need to know about the reality of the
publishing industry. It includes the model paperback book contract
that has been adopted by SFWA, and will tell you in gory detail exactly
how the publisher is mucking with you. A must for SF and Fantasy writers.
-- chuq von rospach
TIMESCAPE by Gregory Benford [****]
Pocket Books, 1980
Future scientists, faced by complete ecological collapse, attempt to
communicate with the past via tachyon emission. They hope to change
the past, and yet not create a "causal-loop" paradox... Excellent prose
and powerful characterization. I couldn't put it down. The resolution
to the paradox problem wasn't the one I'd have chosen, but the manner
in which it was revealed was simply brilliant.
-- Brian Yost
infopro!bty!yost
THE WARLOCK WANDERING by Christopher Stasheff [***]
Ace, 297 pp., $3.50
The latest in the WARLOCK series, detailing the adventures of Rod and
Gwen Gallowglass on and off the planet of Gramarye. A good read, if
not up to the standards of the first books in the series. It is worth
reading for the character of Gwen, if nothing else, who demonstrates
that a female character in fiction can be powerful and assertive while
still remaining every inch a lady. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did.
--Russ Jernigan
idi!oliveb!olivej!barb
WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE by Theodore M. Bernstein [**]
Atheneum, $4.95
Another grammar book for those serious about the English language.
This one is specifically oriented towards the world of newspaper
journalism, so it is less applicable than many, but if you are amused
by the many ways a reporter can muck things up (all examples are taken
from the New York Times) you can have a real good giggle.
-- chuq von rospach
WRITING AND SELLING SCIENCE FICTION by the SFWA [***]
Writers Digest Books, $7.95
A practical how to on writing good SF with pointers on how to sell it
once you have it written. A good general reference, most of the
material is going to be obvious to a serious reader. Two exceptional
articles worth the price of the book: Jerry Pournelle on logic and
consistency in building worlds and Tom Purdom on politics in SF.
-- chuq von rospach
THE YEAR'S BEST SCIENCE FICTION THIRD ANNUAL COLLECTION [****]
edited by Gardner Dozois
Blue Jay Books $10.95 624pp
This book contains 4 of this year's 5 Hugo nominees for best short
story, 2 of the 5 nominees for best novelette and 3 of the 5 nominees
for best novella. Those nine stories alone make this a worthwhile book
and there are 15 more very good stories in this book. The price is high
but considering the quantity and the quality of the stories, it is one
of the best buys in a book today.
-- Danny Low
hplabs!hpccc!dlow
This magazine is Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach. One time rights
only have been acquired from the signed or credited contributors. All
rights are hereby assigned to the contributors.
Reproduction rights: Permission is given to reproduce or duplicate
OtherRealms in its entirety for non-commercial uses. Re-use,
reproduction, reprinting or republication of an individual article in
any way or on any media, printed or electronic, is forbidden without
permission of the author.
source text file
Issue 6, Part 3, July 1986
OtherRealms
A Fanzine for the Non-Fan
"Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life"
Volume 1, Number 6
July, 1986
Part Three
Editorial -- Pros and Cons
By
Chuq Von Rospach
Editor of OtherRealms
I spent Memorial Day at BayCon, the annual San Francisco Bay Area
Science Fiction Convention. Cons are a unique and fascinating part of
Science Fiction. Since most readers have never been to a Con I'll try
to explain what they are and help you decide whether or not to try it.
The first thing that you should know is that Cons have very little in
common with Fandom. A Con is a place where all the facets of SF come
together for a few days. Conventions vary greatly, but these are the
most common activities:
o Art: There is always an art show. Most of the art is for sale;
some of it is good, some of it is horrible. There is usually an Artist
Guest of Honor (also known as an AGOH). There are also a number of
other artists talking on panels and selling their work. This year, the
AGOH at BayCon was comics oriented (BayCon has a strong emphasis on
Comic Books as well as SF and Fantasy). Because of this there wasn't as
a strong Pro presence as usual, and I found it somewhat disappointing.
o Authors: Authors love Cons. Big authors come to the Con to talk to
other authors, publishers, sign autographs and go to parties. Lesser
known authors sit on panels, sign autographs, and talk you into buying
their books. Every Con has an author designated as a Guest of Honor (or
GOH) who is the Big Name. A second author, not quite so big, is named
Toastmaster (TM). The TM's job is to keep the crowds from getting restless
when the Costume Contest runs two hours late and to show up the GOH by being
funnier, friendlier and more accessible. The GOH is recognizable by the mob
of security guards protecting them from their numerous fans.
o Costumes: Convention goes love costumes. They'll spend months on a
something they will wear once. Costumes come in two flavors: hall
costumes designed to wear during the day and show costumes that are
reserved for the Costume Contest on Saturday night.
o Films: When things get boring, you go watch movies. In the Good Old
Days, these were normally 16MM wonders like _The Assassination Bureau_
or _Logan's Run_. Now, with the wonders of videotape you get to see
lots of really good movies, sometimes 24 hours a day. A recent fad in
cons is Japanese Animation. Great stuff, especially compared to the
bilge America puts out on Saturday morning.
o Hucksters: Otherwise known as the memorabilia room. This is the
place where your savings goes to die. You want it, you can get it --
for a price. The hucksters sell a wide range of material, from that
ancient autographed first printing of _The Martian Chronicles_ that you
can't afford through T-shirts, movie posters, art, jewelery, comics and
toy robots to things like armor, daggers, and SCA gear.
o Mundanes: These are all the people in the hotel who don't have a
clue what is happening. They see five Stormtroopers in full gear and
wonder if the Russians have landed. Much fun is taken at a Con
watching all the mundanes try to pretend they aren't staring.
o Panels: The main attraction of a Con, this is where groups of
authors, artists, and other invited guests sit down in front of the
audience and discuss (and sometimes argue) with each other and the
audience. The topics range from very serious discussions to silly and
trivial ones. Baycon had a large number of good panels; from serious
discussions on marketing SF and writing techniques to discussions of
Religion and Magic in Science Fiction and Fantasy. There are great
places to hear authors put their works in perspective and to pick up
new areas of interest and information.
o Parties: When you get up at 8AM, sit in on panels all day, go to the
Costume show in the evening, and generally run around until the early
hours, what do you do? You go to a party. Sleep is optional at Cons.
They are places to meet interesting people. They are sometimes the
only places you'll see the authors that are at the Con.
o The Society for Creative Anachronism: This is a group that is
peripherally attached to SF. They get together and pretend they are
living in ancient England by wearing period costumes, donning armor and
bashing each other over the heads with wooden swords out on the grass
in front of the Hotel.
Cons are great fun, and I don't get to enough of them. You can sit
down and talk with people who have the same interests and level of
intelligence, who understand SF, and who aren't judgmental about
reading material. It is a place to learn about new things in the
industry and in the world. For aspiring writers, the information
content in the panels is as critical as the contacts you can form by
talking to authors, agents, and publishers.
There are a few rules to remember when you go to Cons. First, everything
starts late. Everything also finishes later. The only exception to this
is when you are running late; then everything runs smoothly. A good trend
I've seen is switching to an hour and a half for a panel. You simply can't
get a good discussion going in 50 minutes, and the good cons (like Baycon)
are scheduling panels to go an hour but giving them an extra half hour
before the next panel starts. This keeps people from getting rushed around,
and keeps things on schedule -- Baycon had very few things start late, which
is quite amazing. This is a trend I hope becomes a tradition.
Second, never expect to see the Guest of Honor. The GOH usually hides
in the Con suite unless they are on a panel. When they are out there
are usually a number of stern looking people between you and them. This
is because everyone else is expecting to see the GOH, to ask them to read
a story, have their baby, or autograph their underwear and it is considered
bad form to have a GOH trampled by a mob. This is a necessary evil, and
if you realize it before going you won't be disappointed.
I've found that the other authors are a lot of fun. I met a number of
wonderful people at Baycon this year -- Ray Feist (_Magician_) was
utterly charming and more than happy to go into great detail about how
I misread a couple of interesting points in his book. Dave Smeds (_The
Sorcery Within_) and Clare Bell (_Clan Ground_) were both fascinating
people; Stephen Goldin and Jon DeCles (a co-founder of the SCA) are also
high on my list of people I'm looking forward to seeing again. Sydney
J. Van Scyoc is about as close to your grandmother as you'll ever find.
One thing that used to bother me was meeting an author and having to
admit that you haven't read their book yet. I've found that they don't
mind, and I've discovered a number of good books after meeting the
author in person. If you limit yourself to the 'known authors, you're
cutting yourself off from a lot of really interesting people.
The highlight of Baycon for me was meeting a God. Larry Niven attended
Baycon this year. Long time readers of the net will realize that Niven
is one of my favorite authors; his work turned me into the serious SF
reader I am today. It was a real thrill for me to finally screw up the
courage to go up, shake his hand, and watch my brain turn to
guacamole. Believe it or not, I was speechless, making such wonderful
comments as 'Gee, I liked your last book', 'Gleeble Blurp', and the
infamous 'Shit! I sound just like a fan!' I am, and Larry smiled his
way though the entire awkward encounter. I hope he enjoyed it as much
as I did. Next time I'll try English.
Only in SF can you meet the people who are so important in your lives.
You don't run into TV stars in the supermarket, you don't get to sit
down and discuss his latest book with Gore Vidal, and you don't see Sly
Stallone holding court in the lobby of a Hotel and swapping dirty jokes.
SF is a unique genre and the most amazing part is the accessibility of the
people. If you write to an SF author, chances are they'll write you back.
At Cons, you can talk to an author and they will talk back, person to person.
There is probably a Convention in your area. Most SF magazines carry
Convention listings -- the most complete is in _Locus_. If you are in
the SF Bay Area, I recommend Baycon highly. Every year it gets better
and better. If you can get to a Con, you should -- until you do, you
don't know what you're missing.
OtherRealms Lettercol -- July 1986
Chuq,
Recently I saw a copy of OtherRealms (Vol. 1, No. 4). This particular
copy had been sent to R.A. MacAvoy because it contained a pair of
reviews of her Damiano trilogy. She read the reviews and asked my
opinion. I read the reviews (as well as the rest of the zine) and felt
sufficiently moved (more like compelled) to write this response.
The reviews were written by Dave Berry. Each was about a page long,
but I was no further than the first paragraph in each before it became
apparent that both were going to be ugly little bits of fluff. I don't
intend to critique the reviews point by point -- there was little
enough content in them to allow a handhold. But there was a sour
feeling in my stomach regarding SF in general when I finished them, and
I can at least examine that.
First, Dave Berry is not a critic. I cannot apply that honorific to the
person who generated those reviews. Nor is he a reviewer, really, because
I don't feel he sufficiently described the feelings or plots of the books.
If he really wants to be a critic, I recommend that he study this
worthy art for awhile first. Learning literary criticism is a bit like
learning the violin or bagpipes. It is best done in private for
awhile, lest you lose your life to an annoyed neighbor. At its best, a
violin can pierce one's soul. At its worst, it holes one's eardrum. At
its best, literary criticism can distill the essence of a story and
rekindle the fire of the original as well point out interesting connections.
At its worst ... well, that's why I'm writing this.
In a nutshell, I feel the reviews were inadequately researched, badly
written, and calculated to sting the authors while illuminating Mr.
Berry. They were also transparent in their failings.
Mr. Berry criticizes Ms. MacAvoy for not adequately portraying the
"shittiness" of the world. Mein Gott, Herr Berry, are you so jaded
that your fundamental assumption is that the world is by nature
shitty? If so, then I am even more firmly of the mind that you have
nothing to say in your reviews that I care to hear. For me, the world
is a spectrum of all things, and though one cannot always have the
best, one CAN have it occasionally. If the world is anything at all,
it is balance. And one CAN explicitly choose what to read, what to
talk about, and who to count as friends. So in that way, one really
can choose the kind of world in which one wants to live. If the world
seems shitty, maybe you have sat too long on a dung heap. No?
But I am writing this response for 2 reasons, Chuq, and have only just
covered the first. The second are 2 questions I direct to you. Why did
you print it? And why did you send Ms. MacAvoy a copy?
I realize you sent this issue to Ms. MacAvoy as a courtesy to keep the
writer informed. That sounds like responsible journalism. But consider
the whole picture, and ask yourself whether you would have appreciated
being on the receiving end. Imagine that some stranger solicits (or
receives unsolicited) a very ugly review of something you did. This
stranger graces that review with publication so that many people can
see that review, and then sends this thing to your door so that you
can't help but see it yourself.
Does not that sound vaguely like prying open someone's mouth to pour in
medicine on the grounds that "it's good for you?" I was recently told
that any advice or criticism (or any unsolicited information) must fit
into at least 2 of the following 3 categories:
(1) True
(2) Kind
(3) Necessary
Certainly, reviews cannot, strictly speaking, be true or false So by
these guidelines, the issue you sent her should have been both kind and
necessary. It was neither.
Ron Cain
Cain@SRI-AI.ARPA
[This is just one of a number of letters I received on the double set
of reviews I published in Vol 1 #4. It was a difficult decision whether
or not to publish those reviews. On one side, they didn't conform to the
OtherRealms review standards (see "How to Write a Review" in V1 #2 or the
OtherRealms Writers Guide). On the other side, they portrayed a viewpoint
that was very different than mine. I enjoyed the _Damiano_ trilogy and am
quite enthusiastic about MacAvoy's work.
Because of this, I was unsure whether my unhappiness with the review
was because of the viewpoint or because of the writing. Since I'm trying
to create a magazine where people speak their mind (as opposed to mimicing
what I would want them to say) I want to be very careful about censoring
opposing viewpoints. The end result was that I published the articles
because I wanted to see what the readers felt -- I needed the guidance on
whether that flavor of material was appropriate.
Very clearly it isn't. The mail and the Pico reviews that followed
those publications shows that most readers disagreed with Dave's views
and, more importantly, with how he said it.
The fault, though, isn't with Dave, but with me. I should have
enforced the standards, and I should have requested rewrites of all the
reviews. Because I didn't, I published a bad issue with #4.
It is VERY important that reviewers take a close look at their words.
Not just because the author involved is going to see it, but because
all of the readers are going to see it. The readership of OtherRealms
is somewhere around 2,500 and growing. To put that in perspective,
Amazing Stories has around 10,000 subscribers, so the words you write
have a large audience. With visibility comes responsibility, both on
your part and on mine, to turn out a professional product. In this
situation I blew it.
My review standards are not there to be arbitrary, they have been
developed out of my experience writing reviews (and my occasional hack
job) as a guide for inexperienced writers around the pitfalls of
writing a review. Reviews are hard work. I plan to be more vigilant
about the tone of reviews in the future; you are welcome to disagree
with me, but be prepared to back up your opinions. -- chuq]
Chuq;
The June 1986 issue of OtherRealms contained a Pico Review of Harlan
Ellison's _Deathbird Stories_ by Alan Wexelblat. Wexelblat spent the
first two thirds of his review making the point that _Deathbird Stories_
couldn't be a high quality collection because of the sense of utter
depression conveyed by the contained stories.
I find the idea of anyone holding such a notion utterly fascinating.
While the nature of "good" writing is of course highly subjective, it
seems to me that one reasonable heuristic for determining the quality
of a given piece of writing is to examine how well the writing achieves
the author's goals. Since Ellison six times prior to the first story
explicitly stated that the contained stories where meant to be very
depressing, I submit that Wexelblat's review is a self-contradiction!
Kevin LaRue
kevin%logic.dec@decwrl.dec.com
Chuq,
In Other Realms Vol 1, # 4, you gave the results of suggestions that
people gave you for books to use in a fantasy course. You said that
you were surprised that no horror was included, as horror was a
subgrouping of fantasy. I feel that for a significant portion of
fantasy, the reverse is true.
Both fantasy and horror have a common source: mythology. The line
between the two is very frequently murky, so perhaps it would be a good
idea to look at the history of both genre. There have been horror
magazines around since the beginning of the century, and the first
"modern" works of fantasy (Conan) etc. were printed in these magazines.
Barring children's fantasy (which I tend to prefer) and the works of
Tolkien and his clones (I like Tolkien, but have liked very little that
other people have put out in this vein.), fantasy is stylistically
identical to most modern horror. You can see this in the works of Fritz
Leiber, and it is impossible to miss in the works of Karl Edward Wagner.
I understand that this is a sort of "chicken-egg" argument, but when
one examines horror and fantasy stylistically and historically, it is
plain to see that a significant portion of fantasy is derived from horror.
I do understand that there is a signifigant body of thought that all
horror (Dracula, etc.) is fantasy, but this is a literal interpretation
of the WORD fantasy, not a stylistic interpretation of the genre Fantasy.
Matthew Saroff
SAROFF@UMASS.BITNET
[It can be argued that SF, Fantasy and Horror are all the same genre.
From the point of view of bookstores that lump them all together it is
certainly true. On the other hand the three forms are distinct in that
few authors cross over from one to another.
Using a very broad set of definitions, I tend to see SF deals mainly with
Things, Fantasy with Motivations, and Horror with Fears. Many things
straddle these lines. Ben Bova once claimed the SF was anything that he
pointed at and called SF. I tend to agree. Genres are useful only to the
uninformed who need to pigeonhole things they don't understand. --chuq]
Dear Chuq,
I noted a number of omissions in Allen's bibliography. The one glaring
omission was the fifth, final Demon Prince novel, _The Book of
Dreams_. So, I hied to my bookshelf, and discovered the following:
The Book of Dreams 1981 DAW
To Live Forever 1956 Ballantine
Maske: Thaery 1976 Berkeley
Best of Jack Vance 1976 Pocket
Monsters in Orbit 1965 (1952)
(Ace Double with _The World Between_)
_The Moon Moth_ was placed in the _SF Hall of Fame, Vol 1_, by SWFA.
While I do not disagree with Gary's recommendations for which books to
read, I find the lack of any mention of what makes Vance's works
special dismaying. How can someone discuss Vance's works without
mentioning his footnotes?
One reads Heinlein for a world to live in. Hal Clement, Larry Niven,
or James Hogan delivers hard science. E. E. 'Doc' Smith, Edmund Hamilton,
or early John Campbell smash galaxies. A similar broad stereotype of Jack
Vance is that he writes a travelogue in which the male protagonist overcomes
adversity by using his brains and sometimes his fists.
The excellence in Vance's writing is due to the poetry of his
descriptions. His footnotes are an integral part, giving the reader a
brief glimpse into the fast world backing up his stories.
I, too, am failing to give a explanation of the fascination Vance's
writing have for me. I also disagree with Gary's appraisal of
_Lyonesse_. While it is totally unlike *all* of his other works it is
not half as bad as the schlock coming out of the paperback houses.
Carl Hommel
{allegra, bellcore, cbosgd, decvax,
gatech, ihnp4, seismo, tektronix}!masscomp!carlton
Chuq;
==>On "The Care and Feeding of Journals" by Barb Jernigan:
I don't generally keep a journal, but Mark and I always keep them when
we travel. Even more than pictures, they help capture the way you
feel. In this case, though, they *are* for "publication," or at least
for handing out to family and friends who ask "How was your trip?" The
only problem one might have is if one is traveling in a country where
negative journals might be confiscated on the way out.
Some extra tips: if you're traveling, stay away from felt-tip pens. The
ink will run if the journal gets wet. Something that will fit in a
back pocket works well--a spiral notebook is not suitable for this. I
agree on the "blank books"--too much like writing in a "real" book, and
somehow I feel I would have to be profound to do justice to it.
==>On "The Chronicles of St. Germain" by Chuq Von Rospach:
My feeling was that there was perhaps an over-emphasis on period costume to
the detriment of the rest of the novel (at least in HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA).
Another historical period series that might interest readers is by Les Daniels
and comprises of THE BLACK CASTLE, THE SILVER SKULL, and CITIZEN VAMPIRE.
==>Comments on "Pico-Reviews":
"GALAPAGOS": Strong disagreement with Chuq. I liked it, and *enjoyed*
it. I even nominated it for a Hugo.
"THE POSTMAN": Strange, I found this Brin's *worst* (rather than best)
novel to date. Well, so it goes.
"TIK-TOK": One quibble with Dave Taylor--John Sladek is hardly a "new"
British author, having had books published in this country fifteen years ago.
Evelyn C. Leeper
...ihnp4!mtgzy!ecl
(or ihnp4!mtgzz!ecl)
Notes and Comments on OtherRealms
by
Chuq Von Rospach
Editor of OtherRealms
OtherRealms has mutated further. What I'm trying to do is find the
tradeoff between readability, accessibility and the drudgery of putting
all of this together. The more pieces I use for OtherRealms, the
easier it is to find any single article. At the same time, splitting
things up creates complications for some of the networks; it creates
Copyright problems; it makes it harder to create a hard copy of
OtherRealms and it makes putting an issue together more complicated.
I've decided to try the three part format. The first part will contain
the articles, the second part will contain Pico reviews and perhaps one
article, and the third part will contain the editorial, letters and associated
administrivia. The idea is to simply keep things small enough that you can
skip through the material you aren't interested in without being overwhelmed.
Please tell me what you think. I recently went back to check something
in the first issue. Needless to say, I'm glad the magazine is where it
is instead of where it was.
* * *
A couple of comments on my St. Germain piece from last month. First, I
got two books backwards: _Hotel Transylvania_ was the first book, _The
Palace_ was the second. Also, I somehow neglected to mention the FULL
name of the author: Chelsea Quinn Yarbro.
I got a number of requests for information on availability. The bad
news is that most of the works seem to be out of press at the current
time. The good news is that they ARE available from the Science Fiction
Book Club. Also, All of the books (except _Tempting Fate_, which is still
owned by NAL) have been sold to Beth Meacham at Tor books. Yarbro has also
been contracted for three more books using Olivia as the main character.
The first, _A Flame in Byzantium_ is based in the 6th century and is due to
go to the publisher in August. The other two are to be about the time of
Richard the Lion-Hearted and Louis the XIII of France.
* * *
Two issues keep popping up in my mail, and since I'm chronically short
of time, I'd like to put them to rest here. First is the "problem" of
formfeeds in OtherRealms. I seem to get two or three letters an issue
on this. OtherRealms is formatted for three distinct reading environments:
hardcopy is one, because I want OtherRealms to look as good on paper as it
does on a screen. I send copies of OtherRealms to featured authors and to
various interested parties. Many readers print it out for reading and their
bookshelves. The other two programs are "rn" and Berkeley "Mail," both of
which use the "more" program to handle screen pagination. "More" does the
intelligent thing when it finds a formfeed. It stops.
If your system doesn't, I suggest you fix it. Most readers I've talked
to are happy with the way things are. So am I, and I don't plan on
changing this. Formfeeds are a feature, not a bug.
The other question that comes up is whether to split each item in OtherRealms
into a separate posting for mod.mag.otherrealms. The answer to this is no.
Why? From a philosophical standpoint OtherRealms wouldn't be a magazine
any more. It would be a moderated group and it would have to be handled
differently. It would be significantly different from the real OtherRealms,
both in flavor and format. From a legal point of view, it creates problems
with Copyright. From an administrative view, it would be a royal pain for
me because I'd be supporting two magazines with the same material. I'd
rather support two magazines with different material.
I also think, that the old formats, while familiar, don't work. OtherRealms
is a magazine about SF and Fantasy, but it is also an experiment in new
technologies. I try things, and they work or they fail. Either way we
learn something. Perhaps what we learn here will be useful to the network
at large. I think it is a great improvement on what we used to do.
* * *
This issue of OtherRealms has the first guest editorial. Leigh Ann
Hussey, a SF and Fantasy writer from the Berkeley area, talks to us
about a very important bill now before Congress. I urge you to get
involved and help kill this affront to the Bill of Rights. This is
part of a concerted attack on our personal freedoms by a small group of
Fundamentalist types who firmly believe it is their right to tell us
what to think. The bill is clearly unconstitutional, but it could
create havoc for many before it is proved so. You don't need to be
involved in witchcraft or support it to be against the bill -- the way
it is worded, it is quite possible for the Catholic Church to fall victim,
as it performs exorcisms and other acts involving demons. It is poorly
worded, poorly thought out, and a waste of taxpayers money. It is the
first step towards a state religion, where you are allowed to believe in
only what They deem is acceptable. This was tried before, with very bad
results. If you don't believe me, look up the Inquisition. Or Salem.
OtherRealms is always looking for people to write a point of view that
is of interest to its readers. I'm glad Leigh Ann took me up on it,
and I hope she won't be the last.
Masthead for OtherRealms
Volume 1, Number 6
July, 1986
This issue is Copyright 1986, by Chuq Von Rospach
All Rights reserved
OtherRealms is edited and published on a monthly schedule by:
Chuq Von Rospach
160 Pasito Terrace #712
Sunnyvale, CA 84086
USENET: {major_node}!sun!plaid!fanzine
ARPA: fanzine%plaid@sun.COM
Fidonet: 125/84, user chuq vonrospach
CompuServe: 73317,635
Associate Editor: Laurie Sefton (lsefton@sun.COM)
Submissions: Submissions are welcomed at any of the above addresses.
Electronic mail is preferred, Macintosh format disks through U.S. Mail
will allow me to publish your work MUCH faster (returned with SASE).
Hard copy is accepted but will get keyed into the system when I get time.
A writers guide is available. If you want to write for OtherRealms,
please ask for a copy. Pico reviews are welcome from everyone. Duplicate
the format used in this issue and limit your comments to one paragraph.
If you are on a BBS or other system that does not have access to the
above electronic addresses, contact your SYSOP about making arrangements.
Letters to the Letter column should be mailed to the above address. Letters
to an author should be mailed directly to the author where possible. All
letters will be considered for publication unless requested otherwise.
This magazine is Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach. One time rights only
have been acquired from the signed or credited contributors. All rights are
hereby assigned to the contributors.
Reproduction rights: Permission is given to reproduce or duplicate
OtherRealms in its entirety for non-commercial uses. Re-use, reproduction,
reprinting or republication of an individual article in any way or on any
media, printed or electronic, is forbidden without permission of the author.
Subscriptions: OtherRealms is available through the newsgroup
"mod.mag.otherrealms" on the USENET network. For those on the UUCP,
ARPANET, BITNET and CSNET computer networks without access to this group,
a mailing list subscription is available. Send mail to the appropriate
address above to be placed on the mailing list. Subscriptions are not yet
available on CompuServe. Please write me for the latest status.
OtherRealms is also available through the following bulletin boards:
SCI-FIDO, (415) 655-0667.
The Terraboard, Fidonet number 14/341, (612)721-8967.
Dim_Sum Fido, Fidonet number 146/5, (503) 644-6129
Other BBS systems or computer networks are welcome to make OtherRealms
available on their systems. Either copy it from an available location
or contact me to make arrangements. If you do make it available, I
would appreciate hearing about where it is being distributed.
source text file
Issue 7 — August 1986
Issue 7, Part 1, August 1986
OtherRealms
A Fanzine for the Non-Fan
"Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life"
Issue #7
August, 1986
Table of Contents
Part 1
Stalking the Wild Secondhand Book
Carl Hommel
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls: A Comedy of Manners
Steven Bellovin
Women in Fantastic Armies
Courtenay Footman
Voyagers II: The Alien Within
Chuq Von Rospach
Blood Music and Eon
Jim Brunet
Part 2
Pico Reviews
Part 3
Editorial: The Past Through Tomorrow
Chuq Von Rospach
Letters
OtherRealms Notes
Chuq Von Rospach
Stalking the Wild Secondhand Book
Carl Hommel
With paperback cover prices soaring above the $5.00 mark, and trade
paperbacks more expensive than the hardcovers of even 10 years ago, the
secondhand bookstore is a good place to shop. Why buy the latest Baen
Books cheap ink and ratty paper knockoff for $3.00 when you can find
the original for under $1.00? Since leaving college 4 years ago, I
have tripled my SF collection to over 6,000 books. Less than 100 were
bought for the cover price.
Patience is everything in secondhand browsing. It also demands a
phenomenal memory for titles, or a list that you carry with you.
There are three kinds of secondhand shops: those who know the worth of
SF and make you pay for it; those who know SF is different from
everything else on their shelves; and those who are being robbed blind
by the likes of me.
The first kind are the sort you find at SF Cons in the huckster room
with old first editions in mylar bags and high price tags. Specialty
stores like The Other Change of Hobbit in Berkeley or the Victor Hugo
Book Store in Boston are aware of the demand for the older, pre-1960
paperbacks. While these stores are the most expensive, they are more
likely to have a specific title. I just had to have the 1970 Ace
edition of _Servants of the Wankh_ - the third book in the _Tschai: Planet
of Adventure_ series by Jack Vance to complete my set. Although the
cover price was $.50, and I would have paid from $.25 to $.50 cents at
most store, I was not willing to wait years until I found it. So, I
coughed up the $5.00.
The second kind of bookstore has realized that SF is a hot item. Most
genres, like westerns, mysteries, and especially romance novels,
circulate in and out of the store. The same book may be sold back to
the store several times before it finally wears out. Not SF! We are
collectors and hold on to a title until death do us part. Stores will
get an entire collection and see it vanish within a week, never to
return. To combat this, most stores in the Boston area have a policy
that credit for non-SF books you sell the store cannot be carried over
to SF titles.
With spring cleaning comes yard sales and library sales. They
generally have books published recently, with cover prices ranging from
$1.95 to $4.25 and selling them from $.05 to $.50 apiece. Buy anything
you find interesting for yourself and then buy anything else with the
highest cover price you can. The third kind of bookstore goes solely by
cover price and the higher the price on the books you trade in, the
more credit you get to buy SF.
How can you tell a good shop? Here are some questions to ask
yourself. You will have to decide how the answers fit into your buying
patterns:
1. Did you find it easily? If so, chances are good that other SF
lovers will, too.
2. Do they have thirty copies of _Star Wars_?
3. Are the books in alphabetical order?
4. Are they all on display, or are some of them in boxes or behind
others on the shelves?
5. Are old records, magazines, and other oddities also sold?
6. Do they discount for bulk purchases? (I once bought 40 'Doc
Savage' books for $12.50 by pointing out that they had been
sitting there for 3 months.)
7. Do the store owners read SF themselves?
-----
E-mail address: carlton@masscomp.UUCP
Copyright 1986 by Carlton B. Hommel
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls: A Comedy of Manners
Robert A. Heinlein
Reviewed by
Steven Bellovin
[slight spoilers]
Heinlein is about to drop off my "buy on sight" list. _Cat_ is, in my
opinion, his fourth turkey in a row, following _The Number of the Beast_,
_Friday_, and _JOB: A Comedy of Justice_. They're all pervaded by an
atmosphere of paranoia -- the characters are struggling against an
unknown force to, ultimately, no particular purpose. The books thus
have no global plot rather, they turn on local escapades, theme and
style. The two latter points are certainly enough to justify a book if
well-executed; unfortunately, they are not in this case. In fact, the
style tends to interfere with the theme.
The problem is that Heinlein's style has become too predictable, and
too wearyingly familiar. His characters all love sex, but they seem to
spend most of the time giggling and leering over it, explaining at
great length why it's so good and why their partner(s) have the right
attitudes. Killings, escapes, etc., are all handled oh-so-competently
-- there's no chance of (to cite an earlier Heinlein work) a Professor
Bernardo de la Paz dying.
It's not that his themes are trivial, either. As its subtitle
indicates, _Cat_ turns on manners -- or, more precisely, what constitutes
civilized behavior under difficult circumstances. But the constant
adventure and sexual encounters distract too much. Contrast this with
earlier Heinlein works: how many battles are described, rather than
merely alluded to, in _Starship Troopers_? Remarkably few, given the
theme of the book. And generally, each one had a point to make about
Rico's development. Not only that, Heinlein committed a mortal sin --
spending a lot of time lecturing his audience -- and got away with it.
And in _Time Enough for Love_, he tied together a set of mood pieces and
managed to produce a work that was utterly fascinating -- despite the
fact that many of the individual components were not really science
fiction internally.
There are good points to _Cat_. The plots are locally interesting, at
least until they become too predictable. We get a new look at some old
characters and old scenarios (Heinlein, like Asimov, is starting to
indulge in literary grand unification theories); their behavior is
different, but so is the narrator's viewpoint. Ultimately, it fails to
satisfy.
-----
E-mail: smb@ulysses.UUCP
Copyright 1986 by Steven Bellovin
Women in Fantastic Armies
Courtenay Footman
Many recent fantasies, such as Diane Duane's _Tales of the Five_, most of
Barbara Hambly's books, and the _The Sharpest Edge_ by Stirling and
Meier, have non-technological armies with women on a more or less equal
footing with men. These books are all good, but this assumption is
unrealistic and detracts from the work.
There are unarguable differences between men and women. Beyond the
obvious, the average man is taller than the average woman, has greater
upper body strength and a faster sprinting speed. In a technological
society none of this makes much difference. With hand-to-hand weapons,
though, it means that given equal training a man will best a woman.
If a story has humans, if the primary weapons are hand to hand weapons,
if military training is not universal, if the society is compelled to
maximize its military efficiency, and if the story is rational, the
military use of women ought to be an exceptional event.
The requirement that the story be rational is necessary because if the
story is parody, satire or farce there is no requirement that the
author be required to make sense.
I am not saying that one should not write a book where women are
routinely used in combat; just violate one of my assumptions. The
first one can easily be altered, although it usually isn't. I have no
objections to female soldiers if technology or sorcery makes physical
strength unimportant in combat.
True universal training is rare because it so expensive; generally,
only a technological society can afford it. Hodgell's _Dark of the Moon_
is an example of when universal training does make sense.
The fourth assumption can only be violated if the society does not have
to face strong external threats, or the society will not be long for
the world. Phyllis Ann Karr's novels _Frostflower_ and _Thorn, Windborne_
violate that assumption; in her society, the only combat is ritualized
raiding in which only combatants get hurt, there is minimal damage to
property and no distance weapons are allowed. There are no external
enemies. For religious reasons, all warriors are women.
I am also not saying that there can be no women soldiers - one of the
best medieval combat leaders was a woman. It was not uncommon to leave
the command of medieval castles to the wife of the lord when he was
away, but commanding is not the same as fighting.
A story about an exceptional woman can be exceptionally good, e.g.
Robin McKinley's _Hero and the Crown_ and _The Blue Sword_, and Tamora
Pierce's Alanna stories. Women will not necessarily be in an inferior
position in a non-technological society, they just will not be the
first line combat troops. Andre Norton's _Estcarp_ is a matriarchy because
only women can use magic. Even there the combat troops are male.
-----
E-mail address: cpf@lnsvax.tn.cornell.edu
Copyright 1986 by Courtenay Footman
Voyagers II: The Alien Within
Ben Bova
[***+]
Tor Books, 1986, 344 pages,
$15.95 Hardback
Reviewed by
Chuq Von Rospach
_Voyagers II: The Alien Within_ is the latest from Ben Bova, a journeyman
SF writer and editor. _Voyagers II_ is a near future political intrigue
with a strong leaning towards hard SF.
Keith Stoner has been asleep for 18 years in cryogenic suspension. He
froze himself in deep space in an alien space craft to force the Earth
to rescue it. When medical advances allow his revival, the acquired
technology has reshaped society by making nuclear war impossible and
bringing many new ideas into the world. The rapid changes have also
brought the world to the brink of ruin, and Stoner awakes to growing
unease and escalating violence in Africa.
The company that revives Stoner is interested in using him and his
knowledge. Stoner has changed, though. The alien has merged with him
and the book is about the coming of age of these combined as they
discover and flex their powers.
The political aspects of this book are superb. There is a plot line
involving the political intrigue within the large multi-national
corporation attempting to control the alien knowledge and Stoner.
Everyone is spying on each other, sleeping with each other and hating
each other. There is also the global scale, as the worlds social and
political structure falls apart. The realities of a world where things
are changing too fast are very realistically portrayed.
The book is not without its flaws. Bova, in general, is a little rough
with expository dialog. You can tell when he switches gears and pulls
out the blackboard to explain something. Many authors get away with a
lot worse, though, and this is a minor nit.
A bigger problem was Stoner himself. Halfway through the book, the
Stoner develops a Messiah Complex. He walks from France to Africa and
singlehandedly stops a war. The action evolves well, but it was hard
to swallow; almost pulpish, it reminded me more of Doc Savage than
serious SF.
Despite this I really enjoyed this book. It is a good read. The
problems are minor. If you like Analog-style fiction, this one is
definitely for you.
-----
Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach
BLOOD MUSIC,
Arbor House, 1985
SFBC edition, 215 pages
EON
Bluejay Books, 1985
$16.95, 436 pages
Greg Bear
reviewed by
Jim Brunet
Buy both of these books and read them. I have a lot to say about both
books and much of it, especially about _Blood Music_, may seem to dwell
on the negative. How can I be negative and recommend the books at the
same time? Perhaps it's because an exciting near-miss can be so more
exasperating than the shot that falls wide of the mark.
Both are are very good books, far above the average. _Blood Music_ is on
the Hugo Ballot and I think that _Eon_ should be. Greg Bear is one of
the better, most consistent SF writers around today and both works are
to his credit.
_Blood Music_ is the expansion of a novelette of the same name that won a
Hugo award last year The story line is fascinating, revolving around
the development of microscopic intelligence as the inadvertent
outgrowth of research on biochips -- viruses incorporating computer
elements programmed to achieve tailored, biological functions, e.g.,
cleansing plaque from arterial walls.
One unauthorized experiment leads to viruses that, instead of following
designated programs form intelligent viral colonies that multiply
inside the human body, mutating rapidly and re-designing themselves
until they evolve the capability to literally remake their human
hosts. The viruses are, of course, highly contagious. The novelette
was chilling, terrifying even, arousing a sense of horror far
transcending the trivial tales of Stephen King-derived beasties. The
novel is less successful despite the added detail.
The novelette focused on the character of Vergil Ulam, a bio-technical
genius who has problems with authority and a predilection for
performing unauthorized experiments. Vergil is a well-sculpted tragic
character in the highest sense of the word. He is a nerd without being
a cliche; he has obstinate faith in his own abilities versus those
short-sighted, mediocre managers and directors who obstruct his genius;
he is socially and politically clumsy, yet not without insight into his
faults; finally, he has a sense of recognition of what he has done and
how he has overreached himself. He would be perfectly at home on a
Greek stage, waiting for the just retribution of the gods.
Near the end of the novelette and about a third of the way through the
novel, Vergil meets a more mundane, if artful, demise than any Greek
god would have devised. In the novelette, this is the penultimate
climax; in the novel, it marks the air slowly hissing out of the
balloon, the tension dissipating, a long slow spiral of declining
drama.
The second two-thirds of the book concern the lives of Dr. Michael
Bernard, another bioscientist, who has caught the plague from Vergil,
and Suzy McKenzie, a mildly retarded girl living with her family in
Brooklyn Heights. Suzy is an anomaly, one of a bare handful of people
in North America who do not catch the plague.
The struggles of Dr. Bernard to understand the plague and the
intelligent invaders and transformers of his body, and of Suzy, who
copes with the literal dissolution of her family and an empty New York
City, do not have the same sharp focus and interest as the torment of
Vergil Ulam. Indeed, the originator of the plague is the central figure
of a triptych, where the other two panels are pale shadows, offering
little additional illumination of the central theme. As a result the
second two-thirds of the novel do not maintain the high interest and
tension of the initial third.
Finally, the novel ends not with a bang, not even with a whimper, but
drifts away softly as if it were a boojum that wasn't even there. There
is the suggestion of new hope, new beginnings, mankind transformed and
uplifted. However, suggestion it remains. Instead, the metaphysical
images are murky, the final realizations wait vainly in the wings for
their cues, and the general sensation is not unlike waking up from a
dream that doesn't quite make sense. It's a pity, because the book has
more going for it than 90% of the random selections off the shelves.
Bear's style is accessible without being glib or shallow, the technical
ideas are interesting but worked in for the sake of the story, not
themselves, and both characters and images are very well rendered.
If _Blood Music_ is a triptych, _Eon_ is a large canvas with a truly cosmic
scope. Central to _Eon_ is the mystery of the Stone, an asteroid that
arrives into Earth orbit from interstellar space. The Stone is hollow,
its inside carved into seven chambers. The Stone's external
measurements are roughly 300 kilometers long by 100 kilometers thick at
its widest point; inside it ultimately measures millions of kilometers
long. The story begins in the year 2000; in the Stone is found a copy
of Mark Twain with a copyright date of 2110. Mystery after mystery is
piled on and they're all engrossing.
If the mysteries are piled high, so are the plot elements. Spies,
total nuclear war, space assaults, multi-dimensional mathematics,
alternate universes, alien cultures, intra-Soviet intrigues, the legacy
of Ralph Nader, sex... So many events and ideas are woven into the
tapestry of the story that the East-West nuclear war is almost a
footnote.
_Eon_ is a terrific novel, making its few flaws stand out in sharp
relief. It has a slow beginning. Part of this is due to the large
number of characters located in many different locales that must
necessarily be introduced and established, making for a "...was
happening in Washington; meanwhile, back at the Russian airfield..."
sort of feeling. Unlike _Footfall_, another novel that uses the
large-cast-of-characters-and-locales beginning, _Eon_'s characters are
believable and fully fleshed.
I have a couple of minor nits with the body of the book. One scene
detailing informal negotiations between Americans and Soviets, knowing
that they are on the brink of nuclear war, is flat and unrealistic.
And then there is the matter of sex. I think that the insertion of sex
into science fiction when it began in the Sixties was a good thing; sex
is a part of the world and characters that science fiction embraces.
To leave sexuality out results in as distorted a world or character
view as that of works which have sexual scenes for the sake of
titillating the audience.
Greg Bear seems to be of a similar view; his characters have sexual
feeling and upon occasion even have sex. However, the rendering of the
feelings and encounters is so flat, so devoid of energy, so
unconvincing, I wish that either they had been left out or that Bear
had spent a couple of weeks practicing writing sex scenes. Sex and
humor are two of the most difficult topics to write well, and Bear is
too talented a writer to stumble over this barrier.
One of the prime motivating forces for the actions of a major group of
characters is an alien race called the Jarts. The Jarts remain
off-stage for the entire novel, their threat remaining abstract and
unfelt by the reader, and serving as a force-ex-machina to press
certain plot levers at the author's convenience. This type of plot
device is encountered in a lot of SF writing; _Eon_ is so fine a work
that it sticks out like tennis shoes with a tuxedo.
Then there is the ending itself, or should I say endings, for there are
separate endings for each major group of characters. There is a
letdown feeling, an oh-is-that-all-that-happened sense. Like _Blood
Music_, the ending is anticlimactic and low key. Perhaps this is a
matter of taste, but I did not experience the ending as either the
resolution of an adventure or as an Epiphany of any sort.
Nonetheless, _Eon_ is a very fine book. In my judgment, it belonged on
this year's Hugo ballot and, given the relatively weak field this year,
might have won. If you want a good hard SF book, I strongly recommend _Eon_.
-----
E-mail: jimb@ism780b.UUCP
Copyright 1986 by Jim Brunet
This issue is Copyright 1986, by Chuq Von Rospach
All Rights reserved
One time rights only have been acquired from the signed or credited
contributors. All rights are hereby assigned to the contributors.
Reproduction rights: Permission is given to reproduce or duplicate
OtherRealms in its entirety for non-commercial uses. Re-use,
reproduction, reprinting or republication of an individual article in
any way or on any media, printed or electronic, is forbidden without
permission of the author.
source text file
Issue 7, Part 2, August 1986
OtherRealms
A Fanzine for the Non-Fan
"Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life"
Part 2
Pico Reviews
by
Our Readers
Ratings:
[*****] A classic, must read book
[****] Well above average, don't miss
[***] A good book, probably worth reading
[**] Book has its moments, but is flawed
[*] Not recommended, flawed
[] A book to avoid
ARTHUR'S BRITAIN by Leslie Alcock [*****]
Pelican Books L4.50UK
A wonderful reference book, this is a scholarly study into the post
Roman times of Britain in an attempt to discover whether Arthur really
existed. This work offers a wonderful view into how historians and
archaeologists work and a lot of information about the period of time
that was critical to the formation of the English as well know them
today. An English book, probably hard to find in America, but critical
for anyone thinking of writing Arthurian Fantasy or interested in
studying that time period.
-- chuq von rospach
THE BANE OF LORD CALADON by Craig Mills [*]
Del Ray Fantasy, $2.40, 1982, 218 pages.
Ho hum. Another go-on-a-quest-to-get-something-to-kill-the-dragon, and
meet-interesting-people-and change-their-lives book. No surprises.
_The Curse of the Witch Queen_, by Paula Volsky, was better, if you like
this sort of thing.
-- Carl Hommel
masscomp!carlton
BARD III: THE WILD SEA by Keith Taylor [***]
Ace Fantasy, $2.95
Continuing the saga of Felimid mac Fal, bard and lover of the pirate
Gudrun Blackhair, this book is a conservative extension of the previous
two books. Lots of fighting, lots of adventures, lots of love, but the
characters don't grow and nothing really changes. Solid but unexciting
fantasy.
-- chuq von rospach
A BAROQUE FABLE by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro [****+]
Berkley Fantasy, 214 pages, $3.50
In the mood for something funny? Yarbro's latest book is a master
stroke of a parody of the Fantasy genre, much better than _A Malady of
Magick_. If you can imagine Gilbert and Sullivan doing King Arthur,
you've got a good idea of what this book is like. Follow the frantic
frolics of our fearlous friends: the bored princess, the gallant
knight, the absent-minded wizard, the nasty witch, the crumpet maker
and a cast of dozens singing and tripping their way though a complex
set of maneuvers and mistakes. If it is obvious, they'll never think
about it. Never fear, all live happily ever after in the last four
pages, just as it should be.
-- chuq von rospach
BATTLEFIELD EARTH by L. Ron Hubbard [**+]
Bridge, $4.95, 1984, 1066-count-em-1066 pages
Hey, I liked it. So he was Mr. Dianetics, he could still write good
stuff. The first 50 pages dragged, but the last 1000 had me up three
nights in a row. The ultimate genre writer explores the western,
detective, spy, adventure, romance, alien invasion, and high finance
themes. The last two sections rival _Startide Rising_, by David Brin,
for its us giving the aliens their comeuppance.
-- Carl Hommel
masscomp!carlton
BUS 9 TO PARADISE by Leo Buscaglia [**]
Slack, $16.95 hardcover
A collection of Buscaglia's newspaper columns, this volume lacks the
focus and the punch of his other works, coming across as confused and
unsure of itself.
-- chuq von rospach
CALLAHAN'S SECRET by Spider Robinson [****-]
Berkley Science Fiction, $2.95
The third and final book in the Callahan's Bar series, this book
contains the last four stories to be published in Analog about Jake and
his friends. Two of the stories (_The Blacksmith's Tale_ and my
favorite, _Pyotr's Story_) are superb, but the finale (_The Mick of Time_)
takes great pains to ruin the wonders that Robinson has built over the
years (See 'Callahan's Barred' in 'OtherRealms V1.4' for my comments on
that story). Buy the book, but skip the last story.
-- chuq von rospach
THE COLOUR OF MAGIC by Terry Pratchett [*****]
St. Martins Press [SFBC]
There has been a lot of funny Fantasy around, and this is one of the
best. Pratchett sets out to make fun of every Fantasy novel ever
written, and comes close to succeeding. No matter what you like, from
Conan to Pern, from Lovecraft to Leiber, it is in here, and will keep
you giggling long after the last page. I picked it up for a change of
pace, and was up until the wee hours with it.
-- chuq von rospach
A DARKNESS AT SETHANON by Raymond E. Feist [****]
Doubleday Books [SFBC] Hardcover
The finale of the Riftwar Saga. The Enemy, brought back to Midkemia by
the Rift that created the problems in _Magician_, strives for ultimate
control of the planet. The first half of the book is another classic
quest, the last half of the book is an epic battle the likes of which I
haven't read since Tolkien. Parts of the book are a little uneven, but
nothing detracts for the splendor of this volume or the series in its
entirety. I've read a lot of good Fantasy recently, but Feist's work
is the best of the best.
-- chuq von rospach
DEALING IN FUTURES by Joe Haldeman [****]
Viking Press [SFBC]
A collection of Haldeman's short works, including an alternative story
from _The Forever War_ that hasn't previously been published. Some
really strong stories, including _A !Tangled Web_, _Blood Sisters_ and _More
Than the Sum of His Parts_.
-- chuq von rospach
DEATH IS A LONELY BUSINESS by Ray Bradbury[****]
ISBN 0-395-54702-0, 1985
This is an excellent mystery. It combines the basic plot of a pulp
mystery with strong character development and powerful imagery. It can
be read at many levels. The simplest is as a basic mystery story where
the author and a detective solve a series of bizarre killings. It is
also a psychological novel about the growth of the two main
characters. It is imagery and symbolism evoking a place and time.
Often novels that attempt such variety, and particularly those with
such intense use of imagery and symbolism, fail to work at all of these
levels. This novel is a striking success at whichever level you choose
to read it. The author attracted my attention to this non-SF book and
it was well worth it.
-- Rob Horn
wanginst!infinet!rhorn
DRAGON TALES edited by Isaac Asimov, M.H. Greenberg [***]
and Charles G Waugh. Fawcett Crest, $2.95
Yet Another Anthology of Dragon Stories. Not nearly as good as the two
book set _Dragons of Light_ and _Dragons of Darkness_ by Orson Scott Card,
but about on a par with _Dragons!_ Some of the stories (specifically
McCaffrey's _Weyr Search_ and Dickson's _The Dragon and the George_) are
overly familiar, but in general it is a good solid set of works.
Whether you buy it depends on how much you like to read anthologies
about dragons. I think it is getting to be too much of a good thing.
-- chuq von rospach
DRAGON'S EGG, by Robert L. Forward [****]
Del Rey, $2.25, 308 pages
Life in 67 billion G's can be pretty interesting. Forward takes us
along on a scientific mission to a neutron star, and what do they
find? Life on the surface! The story is well-paced and fascinating,
although Forward isn't exactly a master writer. He sometimes gets
bogged down in needless technical trivia, but this is still a must for
hard-SF fans.
-- Gary Fritz
{ihnp4,hplabs}!hpfcla!fritz
THE DUELING MACHINE by Ben Bova [*****]
Berkley Science Fiction, $2.50
The 1969 classic by Ben Bova, the dueling machine is the story of
technology's affect on society. Dr. Leoh has invented a machine that
allows two people to fight a duel in their minds, revolutionizing
societies way of dealing with interpersonal conflict. It is, of
course, only a matter of time before the ambitious and the insane find
ways to use this technology for their own gains, as a rival planetary
government attempts to take over its neighbors. The book is a race
against the clock between the forces of good an evil as they attempt to
get the technology under control before the galaxy explodes in
turmoil. Wonderful, simply wonderful.
-- chuq von rospach
ENDER'S GAME by Orson Scott Card [*****-]
Tor books, $3.50, 357 pages
Card's story of children trained for stellar war is tense and gripping,
but portrays the title character as a mixture of ruthless warrior and
confused child. I read this book in one sitting, finishing at 2 AM,
which I have not done in years. Only an anticlimactic ending (with
obvious hooks for a sequel) keeps me from giving it a full five stars.
-- Gary Fritz
{ihnp4,hplabs}!hpfcla!fritz
ENGINE SUMMER by John Crowley [****]
Crowley shows us a wondrous post-holocaust world through the eyes of
Rush that Speaks, a young boy on the brink of manhood. The plot lines
were a bit thin in spots, but Crowley's writing and characterizations
were so great I didn't mind!
-- Gary Fritz
{ihnp4,hplabs}!hpfcla!fritz
EYES OF AMBER by Joan D. Vinge [****]
Signet. $2.50
Six stories from Joan Vinge, all classic wonders. The title piece is
superb, but _The Tin Soldier_ will stay with you forever. Vinge is one
of the few authors that I'll read anything they publish.
-- chuq von rospach
FLIGHT OF THE DRAGONFLY by Robert L. Forward [***+]
Baen, $3.50, 376 pages (including 43 pages of appendix)
An exploration team to Barnard's Star discovers a fascinating (but, it
seems to me, highly unlikely) binary planet. In the course of
examining it, they get into trouble and discover an unusual lifeform.
Not world-class writing, but an interesting story. Some ideas, like
the Christmas Bush and imps, are particularly clever. Good hard-SF.
-- Gary Fritz
{ihnp4,hplabs}!hpfcla!fritz
FUZZIES AND OTHER PEOPLE
by H. Beam Piper [*] for writing, [***] for historical interest
Ace, $2.95, 1984, 216 pages.
The manuscript was literally lost in a trunk for 20 years, and there it
should have stayed. The sequel to _Little Fuzzy_ and _Fuzzy Sapiens_, it
cries out for an editor's firm hand. Ewok cuteness, contrived
difficulties, and a lack of characterization that made the first two
novels interesting plod this turkey into the ground. _Fuzzy Bones_, by
William Tuning was much better. Buy only if you are a completist.
-- Carl Hommel
masscomp!carlton
GREATHEART SILVER by Philip Jose Farmer [***+]
Tor Books (Jim Baen Presents) $2.75
A compilation of Farmer's action adventure parody series about
Greatheart Silver, Blimp pilot and adventure hero. The stories were
originally published in _Weird Heroes_, an anthology series during the
mid-70's. It is funny stuff, but if you don't have a good background
in classic pulp and comics, a lot of the jokes will go over your head.
-- chuq von rospach
INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE by Anne Rice [****]
Ballantine Books, #3.95
The story should be dry and dull, but it isn't. The reader is a silent
partner in a monolog interview between the vampire and a boy and his
tape recorder. Anne Rice makes the premise live as she tells the story
of the seamer side of the undead. These aren't the haughty aristocracy
of Stoker or Yarbro, these are the blue collar vampires, working the
wrong side of the tracks from day to day through eternity. A very
depressing book, but a well written and fascinating one as well.
Highly recommended.
-- chuq von rospach
JOB, A COMEDY OF JUSTICE by Robert A. Heinlein [**+]
Ballantine, $4.50, 439 pages
Heinlein is up to his old preaching tricks again, though not nearly as
badly as in _Number of the Beast_. Our Hero is jerked around in a series
of strange and annoying adventures (with the requisite beautiful and
sexy female companion) but never gives up his strong fundamentalist
beliefs. Heinlein makes some very pointed remarks about organized
religion along the way. RAH fans will enjoy it, but others can
probably save the effort.
-- Gary Fritz
{ihnp4,hplabs}!hpfcla!fritz
THE JOHN W. CAMPBELL LETTERS, VOLUME 1 [*****]
by Perry A. Chapdelaine, Sr. et al
AC Projects, Inc., 610 pages, ISBN 0-931150-16-7, $5.95
A self published labor of love, this book will be hard for most people
to find. Anyone interested in the history of SF should make the
effort, though, as it gives an insight into the single man responsible
for bringing SF out of the Pulp ghetto. Using very tiny type, this
book contains thousands of letters written by Campbell on every subject
imaginable. The best work published about the master, by the master.
A must read, my only gripe being the artwork, very uneven in quality
and out of place.
-- chuq von rospach
MIDAS WORLD by Frederik Pohl [****+]
St. Martins Press, hardcover, $12.95
An anti-Utopian novel with a twist -- humanity suffers with a surfeit
of everything, and wealth is shown by the lack of goods. An
interesting premise, well developed and a good read.
-- chuq von rospach
MERLIN'S MIRROR by Andre Norton [**]
DAW Books, $2.95
A fascinating twist on the Arthurian Fantasy genre, unfortunately
flawed. Norton attempts to tell the traditional Fantasy as Science
Fiction, with the Old Gods being star beings and the Crystal Cave full
of the technology they use to teach Merlin. She unfortunately glosses
over the justifications for Merlin's prophecies, and in the end, only
went half way towards telling a SF story. It has its moments, but not
enough.
-- chuq von rospach
MYTHAGO WOOD by Robert Holdstock [*****]
Berkley books, $2.95
A fascinating work, more a study of the precepts of Fantasy than a
Fantasy work itself. The Mythago is a race memory, brought to reality
by warping the magic of the old wood by a susceptible mind. It is a
wonderful exploration of what Fantasy really means, as well as a
wonderful story. Highly recommended!
-- chuq von rospach
REBELS IN HELL created by Janet Morris [**]
Baen Books, $3.50
The second volume in the _Thieves' World_ clone set in Hell, it is an
improvement over _Heroes in Hell_ but not by much. The standard is set:
each volume has one good work by a name author (Benford in the first
volume, Silverberg here) and a lot of Journeyman to Pedestrian quality
words around it. Silverberg's _Gilgamesh in the Outback_ stands alone as
a pearl among oysters, although There are _No Fighter Pilots Down in
Hell_ by Martin Caidin is also worth reading. The rest is forgettable
at best, and _Hell's Gate_ by Bill Kerby is simply bad. If you're
fascinated by the premise, pick it up. A better bet is the _Liavek_
series by Shetterly.
-- chuq von rospach
THE SCIENCE FICTION HALL OF FAME, VOLUME IV [****]
edited by Terry Carr, Avon Books, $4.95
The Nebula Winners for the years 1970-1974 in all categories except
novels, you won't find a bad story in the bunch. A great way to keep
the great works together, well worth adding to your library.
-- chuq von rospach
SHERLOCK HOLMES THROUGH TIME AND SPACE [***]
Edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin Harry Greenberg and
Charles G. Waugh, Bluejay Books, Trade Paperback, $8.95
Heaven for Holmes' fans, this collection of the best of works using the
Great Detective within the SF genre.
-- chuq von rospach
SILVERTHORN by Raymond E. Feist [****]
Doubleday Books [SFBC] Hardcover
The second volume of the Riftwar Saga Trilogy. A change of pace from
_Magician_, we follow Arutha into the very clutches of his mortal enemy in
search of the cure of his beloved Anita. A classic quest novel, and
one of the best.
-- chuq von rospach
SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT by J.R.R. Tolkien [****]
Ballantine Books, $2.95
Of interest primarily to English scholars, this book contains three
previously unpublished translations of traditional English epic poems.
Very well done, if a bit obscure for the average reader.
-- chuq von rospach
SONGMASTER by Orson Scott Card [**]
Dial Press [SFBC]
An interesting premise that just didn't click. The Songhouse is an
institution that teaches people to sing. Occasionally, a singer
appears that becomes a Songbird, someone who is to sing the song of
their master. This is the story of Ansset, Songbird of Mikal, emperor
of the Galaxy. It is well written, but I just couldn't buy into the
premise.
-- chuq von rospach
THE SORCERY WITHIN by Dave Smeds [****, a first novel]
Ace Fantasy, $2.95
Not just a good first novel, _The Sorcery Within_ is a great novel. Feist
works a number of seemingly unrelated subplots together with great
skill. It is not until he is ready that you realize how everything
ties in together. The author shows a maturity of style well beyond his
years. The story ends with an opening for a sequel, for once I'm
looking forward to it.
-- chuq von rospach
SPEAKER FOR THE DEAD by Orson Scott Card [*****]
(Part of SFBC title _Enders War_)
Much better and much different than its prequel _Ender's Game_ (a good
book in its own right). Ender has become a Speaker For the Dead, his
Xenocide and his identity 3000 years in the past. He, through time
dilation, has aged little, and travels from planet to planet speaking
the final eulogy of those who die. He travels to Lusitania, a planet
where the first intelligent species since the Buggers has been found,
and Ender, looking for a new beginning for the Bugger Queen in his
luggage, must deal with the fears of humanity about any being that
could be a threat to it, the fears of the others about humanity, and
humanities fear about itself. Stunning. Both _Speaker_ and _Ender's Game_
stand alone, neither is complete without the other.
-- chuq von rospach
TALES FROM THE "WHITE HART" by Arthur C. Clarke [**]
Del Rey Books [SFBC]
Before Callahan's Bar, Arthur Clarke did a series of stories in a bar
called the "White Hart." These are cute stories, but time has dated
them and they aren't as interesting as they might once have been,
except as a curiousity from the past.
-- chuq von rospach
TEA WITH THE BLACK DRAGON by R. A. MacAvoy [*****]
Bantam Books
Tea with the Black Dragon is a true classic. It evoked clean and pure
emotions like an opening flower or a zen koan. This is an unusual
reaction for me.
-- David Sher
sher@rochester
seismo!rochester!sher
TELEMPATH by Spider Robinson [****]
Orbit books (UK), 95p
Spider Robinson's first book, of the post-apocalyptic sub-genre.
Civilization has fallen, for a strange reason -- the sense of smell has
been magnified until the stench of humanity is no longer tolerable.
Very well written, a fascinating plot, well carried out. This is the
British edition of the book.
-- chuq von rospach
TIK-TOK by John Sladek [*****]
DAW Books, $2.95
Isaac Asimov on acid. Sladek has taken the Robot societies that Asimov
made famous and turned it on its edge. Sladek has a razor sharp satire
of the Grand Master at his finest; he also has a book that works
wonderfully on its own. Wonderful stuff!
-- chuq von rospach
ULLER UPRISING by H. Beam Piper [***]
Ace, $2.75, 1983, 187 pages.
Another "lost" work, but much more satisfying. I had read the earlier
novella, but the extra 50 pages now printed made the work come alive.
Evil and good aliens, forthright military generals, and nukes. Want to
see the major influence on Pournelle?
-- Carl Hommel
masscomp!carlton
VOYAGERS II: THE ALIEN WITHIN by Ben Bova [***]
Tor Books, $15.95 hardcover
Keith Stoner has been awakened after being frozen in an alien space
ship 18 years ago. He, and something that has melded with him, go on a
one man quest to solve all of the worlds problems. Set in an unstable
time of hunger, war, and political and corporate intrigue, he has his
hands full. The book has its problems and the second half runs into a
Messiah Complex, but Bova skillfully moves things forward and writes a
pretty good yarn. If you haven't read Bova recently, you've overlooked
a skilled veteran of the genre.
-- chuq von rospach
THE WAY THE FUTURE WAS: A MEMOIR by Frederik Pohl [****]
Del Rey books, hardcover
The memoirs of Fred Pohl, one of the original Futurians, a SF group
that included members such as Isaac Asimov and Donald Wollheim. This
group was the foundation of SF Fandom and many of its members went on
to help build the Golden Age of SF in the Forties and Fifties.
Interesting to those who want a taste of the way it was. Not as good
as the Campbell book, but still an interesting read.
-- chuq von rospach
THE WORLD INSIDE by Robert Silverberg [***]
Doubleday [SFBC]
Originally published in 1971, this book appears to be a Utopia novel
using a background of Free Sex, Free Drugs, and no birth control. Like
Del Rey's _The 11th Commandment_ and Saberhagen's _Love Conquers All_ this
book turns into an anti-Utopia that attempts to show the problems
inherent with the breakdown of morality that occurred in the 60's. It
turns into a rhetoric against the 60's, and isn't as good a work as it
could have been.
-- chuq von rospach
WRITING THE NOVEL: FROM PLOT TO PRINT by Lawrence Block [****]
Writers Digest Books, $8.95
A down to earth discussion of the mechanics and philosophy of writing a
novel. The book assumes you want to be a writer -- if you aren't sure,
nothing will help. Anyone interested in writing longer works should
read this book -- his techniques may not work for you, but he will help
you find the ones that will.
-- chuq von rospach
Books marked with [SFBC] are available from Doubleday's Science Fiction
Book Club. Books are assumed to be paperback unless otherwise
specified.
This issue is Copyright 1986, by Chuq Von Rospach
All Rights reserved
One time rights only have been acquired from the signed or credited
contributors. All rights are hereby assigned to the contributors.
Reproduction rights: Permission is given to reproduce or duplicate
OtherRealms in its entirety for non-commercial uses. Re-use,
reproduction, reprinting or republication of an individual article in
any way or on any media, printed or electronic, is forbidden without
permission of the author.
source text file
Issue 7, Part 3, August 1986
OtherRealms
A Fanzine for the Non-Fan
"Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life"
Part 3
Editorial:
The Past Through Tomorrow
Chuq Von Rospach
Editor of OtherRealms
One of the things I feel very strongly about is that OtherRealms should
be a showcase for new authors, the names that will be famous tomorrow.
Asimov and Clarke certainly don't need any more publicity, and I would
much rather see the magazine look towards the stars of tomorrow rather
than fan the flames of yesterday.
The only problem with this is that getting information about new
authors is difficult to do -- first books rarely get advertising; if
they did, I wouldn't be pushing them as hard as I do. I finally went
to the publishers for help, and the early responses have been
encouraging, to say the least. Because of this, I'm rather proud to
spotlight an author most of us have probably not read, Ben Bova.
This, of course, needs some explaining. Few people will let me get
away with claiming that Bova is a new author -- his first published
story was in 1959, replaced John Campbell as editor in 1971, and has
been writing and publishing ever since. Bova has recently agreed to
edit a new line of books, Ben Bova's Discoveries, for Beth Meacham at
Tor, and since this line is aimed at the newer authors, I wrote him a
letter.
Bova, being a writer as well as an editor, wrote back asking about
reviews of HIS works. Since OtherRealms is still relatively new, there
aren't any, so I went to my library to see what books of his I had.
None, which really surprised me.
It is obvious that we have an image problem here. He was a great
editor at Analog, but his life didn't end when he went back to
writing. I went out and grabbed some of his books. I've been reading
a lot of Fantasy recently and Bova's work was a breath of fresh air.
It is solid SF, the kind that has always been the Analog trademark.
His latest, Voyagers II: The Alien Within, is a good, solid political
intrigue written in the near future. It isn't perfect, but it's a LOT
better than most of the stuff I've been reading recently.
So OtherRealms is still looking for the stars of tomorrow, but there is
a lesson here for all of us. Some of these stars are new, burning
fiercely over the horizon and just out of sight. Others have been left
behind, peeking out through the mists of time and waiting to be
re-discovered. There is definitely a place here for both the new
authors and the old authors that deserve to be read more. There is a
lot of good OLD SF out there, too, and I'm going to try to not forget
that in the future. You should, too.
-----
Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach
OtherRealms Letters
Dear Mister Chuq Von Rospach:
In your otherwise excellent article about conventions, you omitted any
mention of "filksinging". For this lapse, I shall commission Mrs.
Juanita Coulson to sneak up behind you to give you a forte-fortissimo
"SHRIEK!" as only she can do, which shall either (a) induce permanent
impairment in your hearing, (b) stop your heart, or (c) both. Herewith
my attempt to define this category of activity, in case your sudden,
tragic demise should prevent you from doing so yourself:
Filksinging: the origin of the term is somewhat obscure. The best
explanation so far presented is that it originated as a typogarphical
error in an mid-1960s convention program book. The best definition of
"filksing" is "a haphazard aggregation of filksingers and audience
which gathers to perform and listen to filksongs". As the best
definition of "filksinger" is "one who performs filksongs at
filksings", and the best definition of "filksong" is "a song performed
at filksings by filksingers", we may observe a nicely
mutually-recursive set of definitions, but we are lead into something
of a quandary, and must perforce use less-than-optimal definitions.
It is usually perilous to offer generalizations about any topic, so I
shall attempt to eschew them. Filksings usually begin at approximately
eight PM local time, and usually continue until "dawn" (n., "the time
when men of reason go to bed"); thus, filksingers are usually the only
convention attendees who observe the rising of the solar luminary. At
a filksing, there are usually five to fifteen filksingers, usually in a
"bardic circle" or "bardic semicircle", who usually take sequential
turns at singing filksongs. Each filksinger is usually armed with a
guitar; she usually sings the verses solo, although she may, at her
discretion, invite the accompaniment of the audience on choruses. The
aforementioned audience is usually grouped in the general proximity of
the filksinger aggregrate. Filksongs may be: (a) published texts set
to music ("The Queen of Air and Darkness", "Danny Deaver"); (b) songs
based on published SF or fantasy works (the Dorsai cycle is perhaps the
most popular for such purposes; e.g. "I Am the Destroyer", from
"Soldier, Ask Not"); (c) original songs with an SF or fantastic flavor
(by far the most common category); (d) none of the above; (e) parodies
of categories (a) through (d) (greatly popular; e.g. "I Am the Cheap
Lawyer"). Filksongs are usually classified into two categories:
non-ose and ose (adj., der. fr. cry "ose, ose, and more ose!").
Your correspondent is, most unfortunately, resident in the Midwest, and
is, therefore, limited in his knowledge of filksingers. However, the
following may be recommended: Leslie Fish, Frank Hayes, Bill "of Many
Instruments" Maraschiello, Juanita Coulson, et cetera. (Mrs. Coulson,
in addition to an excellent singing voice, has the ability to project
her voice throughout an -- alas! too often -- noisy filk room, whether
it be an average room or Grand Central Station at rush hour. One
person, intending to record a filksing, was informed by Mrs. Coulson
that it would be prudent if he would, during her turn, reduce the
recording intensity of his device. The miscreant neglected to do so;
reportedly, the microphone emitted a puff of smoke at the beginning of
Mrs. Coulson's first song, the said microphone having been irreparably
damaged by the said singer. It is suggested that acquaintances of Mr.
von Rospach say their farewells to him now; in any event, he will be
unable to hear them hereafter.)
Much more could be written about filksinging, of heresies, of Frank
Hayes Disease, and of many other topics, but many would now say that
this letter (guided missal?) has continued altogether too long already.
I shall close by inviting those whom this letter has interested to
examine filksinging more closely at their next con;
I Remain
Y'r Humble and Obedient Serpent
Timothy A. McDaniel, Esq.
Arpa: mcdaniel@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu
Csnet: mcdaniel%uicsrd@uiuc.csnet
Usenet: ...{pur-ee|ihnp4|convex}!uiucdcs!uicsrd!mcdaniel
Dear Chuq,
I enjoyed your article on the attractions at conventions, but note that
you left out one of my favorite things: Gaming. Most SF cons I've seen
will have a small area set aside for gamers (usually for roleplaying
games, e.g. Dungeons & Dragons, Champions, Call of Cthulhu), some go
so far as to organize tournaments. The best thing about gaming at
conventions is getting to see how others do it, and try different
"styles." The best game I've ever played in was at a convention; so was
the worst.
I realize you were primarily pointing out the convention features a SF
reader would be interested in, but since most rolegamers are SF/fantasy
readers, I thought I'd point this out.
--Carl Rigney
USENET: {ihnp4,allegra!cbosgd}!okstate!uokvax!cdrigney
-----
Dungeons & Dragons is a trademark of TSR, Inc.
Champions is a trademark of Hero Games.
Call of Cthulhu is a trademark of Chaosium.
Chuq;
I enjoyed reading your 'Introduction to Cons' very much. It gives a
very good intro to the 'feel' of being at a Con. The bigger cons are
generally just bigger and things run later.
I think that some fen would disagree with your relative ranking of
panels and parties. The parties come first for most, and many never
attend more than one or two panels.
Some advice for first-time con-goers:
- Read people's name badges. You might be sitting next to someone you've
always wanted to meet, but you don't know what they look like.
- Don't be afraid to talk to someone famous. Larry Niven and Isaac
Asimov have to go the supermarket for their groceries just like
everyone else. It's usually safe to corner someone at a party.
- On the other hand, don't be obnoxious. Try to insert yourself
gracefully into a conversation.
- If there is a party and the door is open, it is an open party. Join
in! If the door is closed, it is a closed party. Don't go in
unless you have an invitation (or are with someone who does).
- Don't be intimidated just because everyone seems to know everyone
else (except for you). Many of them have just met. Also,
everyone had a first Con.
- Go to the meet the guests reception (every Con has one) and try and
meet as many people as you can. Then you can act like you know
them all the next year 8-).
Other Matters:
I thought that Spider Robinson was a very good choice for BayCon's
Writer Guest of Honor. He was much more accessible than most (he
talked for quite a while after the Meet the Guests Reception).
We are currently deep in the process of selecting/approaching the GoHs
for 1987. We will have flyers at Westercon with the names of any
confirmed guests.
John R Blaker
Logistics and Transportation
BayCon '87
UUCP: ...!sun!wdl1!jrb (jrb@wdl1.uucp)
ARPA: jrb@FORD-WDL1.ARPA
blaker@FORD-WDL2.ARPA
Chuq,
Finally, I find myself with time to write a loc to OtherRealms. Since
I have a lot to cover, I left a few things by the wayside, but here are
some things that demand comment.
I must confess that I'm a tad perplexed by Richard Loken's "pico
review" of _Pet Sematary_ in OR #3. When he says, "King has some real
writing skills which he uses to write schlock, I couldn't stand the
subject and never finished the book. Classic Stephen King," one can
infer that Loken doesn't like horror fiction in general and/or King in
particular. Which makes me wonder why he read _Pet Sematary_ at all, even
to relieve boredom.
Regardless, while I hesitate to do so, I venture to say that Mr. Loken
didn't understand what King was trying to say in the book. The story
was about the inability to let go of loved ones who've died; how even
the most rational of people have a hard time accepting the finality of
death. Despite a corny ending that I didn't think resolved the story
very well, King did a very good job of bringing this point across. The
book wasn't scary or gross; what it was was *disturbing* and *uneasy*,
as it should have been.
I could empathize with Lou Creed's actions. I read the book on a
weekend trip to Maine (coincidentally, very close to the setting of the
book). The day after I got back home, I went over to my parents' house
and learned that one of my mother's cats had died just before the
weekend. Pasha (who, again coincidentally --- I'm serious! --- looked
very much like the cat on the cover painting of the book) was my
favorite of all the cats I'd known before or since, and I was quite
depressed about his death. My mind immediately started asking the
obvious question: If I had access to a Pet Sematary as existed in
King's novel, would I use it to bring Pasha back, knowing the
consequences? The disturbing answer was that if I decided against it,
it would only be after long consideration. And to add to the feeling of
despair, my father passed away two weeks later.
I can't say that my experiences didn't color my perception of the book,
even though they happened *after* I read the book (except that I did
know for a long time beforehand that my father was dying ). Still, King
knew exactly what nerves to strike and I think he did so with unerring
skill.
re: "Callahan's Barred"
I haven't read _Callahan's Secret_ yet, nor, I confess, the magazine
appearances of the stories therein. Yet still, I understand your
feelings about the matter, because I felt similarly at the end of the
first Callahan's collection. I'd been a faithful reader of Robinson's
stories as they appeared in ANALOG, and I welcomed the chance to read
them again, all together, when the collection came out (not to mention
the couple of new stories). The last story in that book, _The Wonderful
Conspiracy_ left a bad taste in my mouth.
Part of the whole positive feeling of the Callahan's series was the
*humanity* in it, that it was, at the heart, people helping people.
That we find out, as did Jake, in _Wonderful_ that there was far more
to Callahan than we'd known previously, I felt a small betrayal. While
it wasn't really a *deux ex machina*, it seemed to me to be damned
close. It changed the whole complexion of the series.
I read the next one or two stories in the series when they appeared in
ANALOG, but they just didn't seem the same to me. It was like running
into and old friend after some time has passed and realizing that your
friend has changed somehow, in a direction that makes you feel
distinctly uncomfortable.
re: Horror as an offshoot of Fantasy
It was an interesting point you made in your April Survey Report about
the dearth of Horror in the survey results. I suspect that a majority
of fans just *don't* consider Horror as a part of Fantasy, perhaps due
to an attitude of "I like Fantasy, but I don't like Horror". In fact,
the impression I got from a couple of the folks behind the Fourth
Street Fantasy Convention in Minneapolis was that one of the ostensible
reasons behind that convention's existence was because the World
Fantasy Convention seemed to be oriented to Horror rather than
Fantasy.
On one hand, I tend to agree with them. I, personally, like Science
Fiction and Horror, but very little Fantasy, and I tend to separate
them into distinct categories. On the other hand, in practice, I tend
not to distinguish any of the three. I usually think of the three being
a single entity that I call Fantastic Literature and let it go at that.
One other person here at DEC has come up with a rather elegant system
in which he considers Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror as different
species in the genus Fantastic Literature.
Part of the problem in trying to distinguish one species from another
is that there is, as you point out, a lot of interbreeding. Is _Alien_
science fiction or horror? How about Whitley Strieber's novels (_The
Wolfen_, _The Hunger_, _The Night Church_)? He takes the standard concepts
of horror --- werewolves, vampires, and demons --- and treats them as
science fiction. As does George Martin in _Fevre Dream_. And the list
goes on and on.
Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror are useful labels for dealing with
the material, but they cannot be hard and fast. While I would be fairly
comfortable about shelving my SF/F/H separately from my mysteries or
historical novels or whatever (even though I don't do so), I'd never
consider trying to separate the SF from the F from the H. It's like
trying to decide if I should file my Jeff Beck albums under Rock'n'Roll
or Jazz/Blues.
re: Articles/reviews of "non-sf" material in OR
Again, I'm somewhat divided. I feel that some "non-sf" material has a
place here. Something that fosters an understanding of science or
writing or similar bases for the discussion of SF belongs, as long as
its connection with SF is clearly established and is the point of the
article. Reviewing such just for its own sake doesn't really tell us
anything with respect to our common interest. If there was a problem
with Barb Jernigan's review of Golden Bough, it was that it read as no
more nor less than a review of a folk music group. Until Barb's reply
to Matt's letter, I had no idea that the group did any fantasy songs
because she didn't specify this. While I like folk music (and, thanks
to Barb, I will probably look this group up), unless its connection to
The Field is clearly established, it's just as well to leave it out.
And by the way, as long as we're on the subject of fantasy folk music,
I want to recommend another Kicking Mule record called BORDERLANDS, by
a duo Chris Caswell and Danny Carnahan (under the collaborative by-line
Caswell Carnahan). The title song was written by them and is very
definitely fantasy, and one of the other songs is a traditional tune
called "The Farmer's Cursed Wife".
Jerry Boyajian
UUCP: ...!{decwrl|decuac}!akov68.dec.com!boyajian
or ...!decvax!akov68::boyajian
ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.DEC.COM
OtherRealms -- The Movie
Well, not really, but now that I have your attention I thought I'd take
this time to announce the latest offshoot of OtherRealms. OtherRealms
is now available on a subscription basis in hardcopy.
Why, you might ask, is an electronic Fanzine being printed out and
mailed? Primarily because I realized I was doing it anyway. Every
month, OtherRealms goes to editors, publishers, authors, and other
random interested parties -- anywhere from 5 to 15 copies a month
through the mails to people who don't have E-mail access.
Since I'm sending them out, I might as well do it right. Thanks to the
wonders of the Macintosh, it is possible to put together a good looking
printed product rather quickly; without, in fact, much extra work than
it takes to get OtherRealms out to the networks. I'm also starting to
strain my morality at the company copy machine, so this is the first
issue to go to a copy shop instead, and will also be printed up double
sided to help save on postage.
The electronic OtherRealms is about as good as it is going to get with
current technology. I think it is a big step forward from where we
were at the beginning of the year, but taking a critical look at it on
paper makes me feel that the best electronic look doesn't do very well
on paper, so it makes sense to split them and deal with them as
separate entities. As long as I'm going to do it anyway, I might as
well make the magazine generally available. It will (I hope) make the
material more accessible to the rest of the world as well as bring
outside material. To date, all of the material published has come from
my prime network, the USENET|ARPA|BITNET|CSNET interconnect. We've
been exporting our words to other places, but haven't been nearly as
successful in getting it back in. Hopefully these new options will
change this.
For now, charter subscriptions are set for $15/year. The idea of this
is simply cover postage and copying costs. I'm going to monitor things
for a few months, and if I'm too high, I'll add a couple of issues to
the subscription to make it up. If I'm too low, I'll eat it (sounds
fair?).
Why subscribe to the hard copy? For someone reading it online, not a
lot of reason since the same words will be in both places. I'm going
to start using some art (as it gets submitted) in the hardcopy version,
and I think the print will be much more pleasant to read. I don't plan
to print material that won't also go to the networks, so there is no
pressure to pay any money -- the point is to put the best face on the
words in whatever format they are seen -- besides, typography and
layout are fascinating and I expect I'll have just as much fun learning
how to do it in print as I did online.
Who knows? It could be the start of a whole new career...
Masthead
This issue is Copyright 1986, by Chuq Von Rospach
All Rights reserved
One time rights only have been acquired from the signed or credited
contributors. All rights are hereby assigned to the contributors.
Reproduction rights: Permission is given to reproduce or duplicate
OtherRealms in its entirety for non-commercial uses. Re-use,
reproduction, reprinting or republication of an individual article in
any way or on any media, printed or electronic, is forbidden without
permission of the author.
OtherRealms is edited and Published on a monthly schedule by:
Chuq Von Rospach
160 Pasito Terrace #712
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
USENET: {major_node}!sun!chuq
ARPA: chuq@sun.COM
CompuServe: 73317,635
Submission Policy
OtherRealms publishes material on Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
literature with an emphasis on reviews. Please, no media articles. I
am very interested in the newer and lesser known authors -- all those
hard working and under paid people we haven't heard about yet. You can
read an Asimov review anywhere -- OtherRealms wants to review the next
Asimov. Articles about authors, series, and anything of interest to the
serious reader of the genre is welcome.
My preferred submission format is electronic. If you can E-mail it to
me, or put it in a format my Macintosh can read, it saves me a lot of
work. If not, I'm a fast typer.
Pico reviews are welcome from everyone. Duplicate the format used in
this issue and limit your comments to one paragraph. Please include
enough information to allow someone to buy the book, such as Publisher
and price. If it is not a paperback, or is from the Science Fiction
Book Club, please note that as well.
Submissions of publishable art for the hardcopy version of OtherRealms
is solicited. No Vulcans or other media, please.
A writers guide is available. If you want to write for OtherRealms,
please ask for a copy, including SASE as appropriate. Submissions
should include both an E-mail address (where applicable) and a U.S.Mail
address. Your address is for your contributor copy -- it will not be
published unless you request it.
Letters should be mailed to the above address. All letters will be
considered for publication unless requested otherwise.
Subscriptions
OtherRealms is available in two forms: electronic and paper. The
electronic OtherRealms is available through the newsgroup
"mod.mag.otherrealms" on the USENET network. For those on the UUCP,
ARPANET, BITNET and CSNET computer networks without access to this
group, a mailing list subscription is available. Send mail to the
appropriate address above to be placed on the mailing list.
OtherRealms can be found as part of Online Visions (GO SCI-4) on
CompuServe. OtherRealms is also available through the following
bulletin boards:
SCI-FIDO, (415) 655-0667.
The Terraboard, Fidonet number 14/341, (612)721-8967.
Dim_Sum Fido, Fidonet number 146/5, (503) 644-6129
Other BBS systems or computer networks are welcome to make OtherRealms
available on their systems. Either copy it from an available location
or contact me to make arrangements. If you do make it available, I
would appreciate hearing about where it is being distributed.
The paper OtherRealms is available from the above address for $15 for
12 issues, sent first class in a wrapper. Fanzine trading rules also
apply: if your article is printed in OtherRealms or you send me a Fanzine
you get a free copy. Please make checks payable to "Chuq Von Rospach."
source text file
Issue 8 — September 1986
Issue 8, Part 1, September 1986
OtherRealms
A Fanzine for the Non-Fan
Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life
Issue #8
September, 1986
Table of Contents
Part 1
Time and Again
by Barbara Jernigan
The Riftwar Saga
by Chuq Von Rospach
Visions of Techno-Disaster
by Evelyn C. Leeper
Part 2
Pico Reviews
Readers Survey
Gateway
by Dave Taylor
David Lindsay, the Arcturan Voyager
by Gary A. Allen, Jr.
Part 3
Godbody and Radio Free Albemuth
by Chuq Von Rospach
Letters to OtherRealms
OtherRealms Notes
Chuq Von Rospach
Time and Again
An illustrated novel
Jack Finney
A Fireside Book by Simon and Schuster
$9.95US,
ISBN 0-671-24295-4, 1970
[****-]
Reviewed by
Barbara Jernigan
barb@olivej.UUCP
Copyright 1986 by Barbara Jernigan
"We think the past is gone, the future hasn't yet happened, and
that only the present exists. Because the Present is all we
can see."
Imagine, just imagine, if you only believed enough, you could will
yourself back in time. This would take preparation. All the threads
that tell you when you are would have to be unwoven, replaced by the
knowing of When you want to be. Then, when the knowing is complete,
you step out one January morning into an alien world, from New York
City 1972 to New York City 1882. Simon Morley, as part of a
ultra-secret Government project, does exactly that in Jack Finney's
TIME AND AGAIN.
TIME AND AGAIN is a fascinating read. It is engagingly written so that
it seems Si Morley is in the same room with you relating his strange story.
The book opens with a disgruntled Si doing hack work for a large
advertising agency in New York City, "on an ordinary day, a Friday,
twenty minutes until lunch, five hours till quitting time and the
weekend, ten months till vacation, 37 years till retirement. Then the
phone rang."
Si little suspected that phone call would drastically change his life.
Enter Rube Prien, an Army Major who missed his calling as a used car
salesman. He sells Siand the reader solely on his own enthusiasm. Only
after Si commits to participation are the details made plain.
The Mystery Project involves time travel -- stepping across the
intervening years like the spit of sand in Danziger's metaphor. No
flashy equipment out of H.G. Wells, the only tool is the human mind.
Si's destination is New York City, January, 1882. Within the framework
of the project it is a personal mission -- to watch a man mail a letter.
This letter would result, years later, in the suicide of Andrew
Carmody, a well-known financier and political figure of 19th century
New York, later fallen on hard times.
Little is Si to know the mystery -- and danger -- he'll stumble upon in
his quest to uncover more of the circumstances around that letter.
After two months of training he is ready to make his January attempt.
His first success is almost an accident, but, with practice, he is able
to step back at will. He describes in detail the vistas of 1880
Manhattan Island, and Finney has furthered the illusion by including
tintypes and sketches by Simon Morley, bringing the panorama into
focus. Even photographs of his new 1882 friends are included.
It is an exercise, a research project, only Si is drawn deeper and
deeper into the events until they become real. The consequences of the
1882 actions become as personally important as the events of 1972,
tempting Si to interfere. One can hardly blame him, as he falls in love.
Does Si change history? Can he? Or is he merely the tiniest of twigs
dropped in the torrential river of time? Finney answers this, in
rushing plot twists and a surprise conclusion.
Admittedly, the mystery in TIME AND AGAIN wasn't very convoluted; an
attentive reader should solve it before Morley does. This is not a mark
against the book, as the mystery merely serves as the thread the events
of the book follow. The bulk of TIME AND AGAIN is description in
exquisite detail, pointing out, through Si Morley's 20th century eyes,
how much we've changed in a scant 100 years.
The book's early pace is leisurely, like a stroll through the park; but
as Si's involvement increases, so does the converging crisis with an
answer to Andrew Carmody's cryptic suicide note. The reader is thrown
in the midst of the cataclysmic events -- given a chance to breathe,
and then.... If you like a read with characters that live and breathe,
if you like the idea of stepping out of your favorite 20th Century
reading nook into a detailed portrait of Life in 1882 New York City, if
you like a fully Human protagonist who just might make a mistake, TIME
AND AGAIN is a book well worth searching out.
The Riftwar Saga
Magician [*****]
Silverthorn [****]
A Darkness at Sethanon [***+]
Raymond E. Feist
Reviewed by
Chuq Von Rospach
Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach
The Riftwar Saga is a trilogy of Fantasy by Ray Feist. These books are
classic High Fantasy works, with many of the standard archetypes. Pug
is the Orphan Boy, apprenticed to the master Mage Kulgan. His best
friend, Tomas, is the Warrior Child. This is a world populated by
Elves, Trolls, Goblins, Dwarves and Humans.
Feist, though, has not rewritten Arthurian Fantasy or ripped off
Tolkien. Rather, he has skillfully picked and chosen from the basic
familiar elements of Fantasy to build a complex tapestry that is
familiar, but at the same time unique.
The books are set on two worlds: Midkemia and Kelewan. The first half
of MAGICIAN (MAGICIAN: APPRENTICE in paperback) is set on Midkemia.
Pug is trying, with little success, to learn the ways of magic.
Strange beings are found in the forest, and evil elements are on the
loose. Battles ensue, and it turns out that a society from another
planet has opened a rift (literally, a hole in space) from their world
to Midkemia. In one raiding party, Pug is lost and feared dead (from
the title of the second paperback, it is obvious he isn't). The
remainder of MAGICIAN: APPRENTICE follows the people of Midkemia as the
fight the invaders for their homeland.
MAGICIAN: MASTER switches back to Pug, taken prisoner and made a slave
of the Tsurani, the people of Kelewan. We follow him as he survives
and is finally discovered by the Black Robes, the magic users of the
Tsurani. His slavery rescinded, he is initiated into the powers of
Kelewan and eventually becomes one of the most powerful magicians on
the planet. Pug eventually finds he way back to Midkemia and finally
closes the rift between the worlds, saving the planet from the invaders.
SILVERTHORN is a change of pace. Evil forces on Midkemia, the Dark
Elves, Goblins and others, are massing against the Kingdom. There is a
prophecy that when the protector of the west, Prince Arutha, is slain,
the forces of darkness will rule. An assassin's bolt is deflected,
though, and Arutha's love Anita is injured. The bolt is poisoned, and
she will die unless Arutha can locate the Silverthorn plant needed for
the antidote.
SILVERTHORN is a quest novel, as Arutha rides into the very clutches of
the enemy who wishes his death for the secrets of the cure. As
MAGICIAN was written to a global scale, this is a small and personal
book, focusing on one man and his loyal followers and their search for
the answers they seek.
A DARKNESS AT SETHANON is the conclusion of the series. There are a
large number of parallel plot lines developing, and to some degree the
book suffers from trying to tie up all the loose ends before the last
page is turned. Pug and Tomas are questing for information that will
help them defeat the ultimate Enemy, attracted to Midkemia by the
Rift. Arutha, still hounded by assassin, heads off on another quest
for Murmandamus, leader of the enemy forces again massing against the
Kingdom. The book interchanges between the different quests.
Everything starts coming together at Sethanon as the forces of good and
the forces of evil prepare for the final battle. The final battle is
truly climactic, with the forces of good finally succeeding in staving
off the aggressors.
This is a gross over-simplification of the series. It is a rich
tapestry of people and places, all of them real and vibrant. The world
is richly detailed throughout, and there are a large number of subplots
to keep things hopping. The series is not really a trilogy: MAGICIAN
stands alone from the other two, sharing but a common timeline and the
characters. SILVERTHORN takes up where MAGICIAN left off but doesn't
depend upon it, while A DARKNESS AT SETHANON is the logical ending for
the storyline begun in the SILVERTHORN.
MAGICIAN is, simply put, one of the best pieces of Fantasy I've read
since I discovered Tolkien. I can't recommend it highly enough. Be
aware that the split of the paperbacks is a publishing necessity, and
the books do not stand alone. Be prepared to buy and read both.
SILVERTHORN is a good quest novel. It doesn't quite match up to the
quality of MAGICIAN but is still better than a lot of the Fantasy
I've read in the last year. A DARKNESS AT SETHANON is the only book in
the series with any serious flaws, problems brought on by the
complexity of the series and the number of items Feist had to resolve.
The biggest problem with A DARKNESS AT SETHANON is that it is really
two half novels. The first half describes a quest, the second a
battle. The transition is rather abrupt, leaving the book with a
schizophrenic feel. Feist trots out the unresolved subplots and
characters and takes care of them, sometimes making it read choppy and
hurried. The final climax sputters a bit, for all the power that is
written into it, leaving the ending somewhat weak.
Despite these problems, I recommend the entire serious without
reservation. The problems, in comparison with the scope of the
universe and the skill that Feist has in pulling it all together, are
quite minor. The first book(s) is truly a classic and should be on the
must read list of anyone. Fantasy lovers will also enjoy the second
and third books.
Magician is Feist's first novel. All three books are available in
hardcover through Doubleday and through the Science Fiction Book Club.
MAGICIAN is available in paperback through Bantam books in two
volumes: MAGICIAN: APPRENTICE and MAGICIAN: MASTER. SILVERTHORN is
due out in paperback in September.
Visions of Techno-Disaster
or The Chernobyl Syndrome
Evelyn C. Leeper
ecl@mtgzy.UUCP
Copyright 1986 by Evelyn C. Leeper
[Spoiler Warning]
This has been the year of the techno-disaster (or the "year of the
jackpot," to use Pohl's phrase). We began with the Challenger explosion
on January 28, proceeded to the Titan explosion on April 18, the
Nike-Orion misfire on April 25, the Chernobyl melt-down on April 26,
and the destruction of the Delta on May 3. Science Fiction supposedly
prepares us for "future shock" and the implications of technology. How
well has it done? And, since media now dominates literature in the
eyes of most people, how has media in particular done?
The Challenger explosion was by no means the first accident in the
space program, or even the first fatal accident: the Apollo I fire
(1/27/67) killed astronauts Chaffee, Grissom, and White; the SoyuzI
parachute failure (4/24/67) killed cosmonaut Komarov; and the SoyuzXI
explosive decompression (6/29/71) killed cosmonauts Dobrovolski,
Volkov, and Patsayev. Cosmonaut Konstantin Bondarenko also apparently
died in space on 2/2/61, in what was described by the Soviets at the
time as a Sputnik.
Perhaps because of the 15 year safety record since the last deaths this
accident was a shock to many people. Space technology isn't perfect.
Did SF in general, and the media in particular, prepare us for this?
No. SF films set in space generally assume the perfection of
technology and concentrate on the failings of human beings. Now it's
true that most of them are set far enough in the future that one may
assume the basic problems inherent in space travel have been solved.
An analogy would be that films set in the present do not concentrate on
airplane crashes, but rather use airplanes as a reliable means of
transporting the characters.
The exceptions to all this matter-of-fact acceptance are mostly older
films, made before space travel, or in the early years of space
exploration. THINGS TO COME (London Films, 1936) carries the same
message: "Although we may fail this time, we will keep on trying until
we succeed." You are led to believe that they will succeed. ROCKETSHIP
X-M has a "successful" Mars exploration (it started out for the moon and
missed!) run out of fuel on the way back and crash into the Sun. THE
QUARTERMASS XPERIMENT (a.k.a. CREEPING UNKNOWN, Hammer, 1957) also ends
with a rocket crash, but to its credit, the message is not one of
despair, but rather one of the realization that failures will occur but
that we will not give up because of it.
The mission in CONQUEST OF SPACE (Paramount, 1955) is a good example of
the attitude of films toward technological problems; though there are
some uncontrollable problems (meteors), the major difficulty
encountered is the Captain, who suddenly develops an anti-technological
religious stance and sabotages the mission, first by wasting fuel in
the landing and then by draining most of the water storage tanks before
he can be stopped. There are no mechanical failures, not even those
which could be traced to human error. Films simply did not yet
recognize that people in real life might cut corners.
MAROONED (Columbia, 1969) is perhaps the best known "techno-disaster in
space" film, since it came out right before the Apollo 13 accident
(4/13/70). Although it sugar-coated its ending to some extent (the
only death is the astronaut who sacrifices himself for his crew
members), it did have one salutatory effect -- it spurred the United
States and the Soviet Union to standardize their equipment so that the
Soviet rescue shown in the film could actually happen.
The fact that MAROONED did not have an entirely happy ending is
indication that there is at least some realization of the costs of
technology; earlier films such as DESTINATION MOON has the characters
in a position similar to that in MAROONED: one must give up his life to
save the others. But just in the nick of time, they find a way out of
the dilemma.
How does this compare with recent literary treatments? A book along
similar techno-disaster lines is Lee Correy's SHUTTLE DOWN (Del Rey,
1986), which postulates a problem at launch which necessitates the
emergency landing of a shuttle on Easter Island. There are two
interesting side-notes to this book. The book was written in 1981. In
1985, NASA announced that it was negotiating with Chile the possibility
of emergency landing support in the event that a shuttle launched from
Vandenburg was forced to make an emergency landing there. Del Rey just
happened to re-issue it a month before the Challenger disaster. The
constant references to the problems of having one-quarter of our space
fleet out of commission are downright bizarre in light of subsequent
events.
Unfortunately, as soon as the shuttle lands it becomes mostly a can we
build a launch pad on Easter Island before the Russians invade sort of
story. Lee Correy is the pseudonym for G. Harry Stine, a noted
technophile, and the book is chock full of pro-space speeches, some
even more applicable today:
It's always been worth it, something told him in the back of
his mind. Did anybody ever tell you that a frontier never
claimed any lives? Did anybody ever tell you that being a
pioneer means discovering new and more horrible ways to die?
You want to sail a new ocean? How can you if you won't risk
losing sight of the shore?
Occasionally he is off the mark; a reporter asks the shuttle pilot if
he knows what caused the accident and the pilot replies: "But it
couldn't be a major glitch, not after years of development and
operations and lots of successful Shuttle flights to date."
Another area of techno-disaster is the nuclear melt-down. Again
Columbia Pictures managed to scoop reality with THE CHINA SYNDROME,
released shortly before the Three-Mile Island incident on March 28,
1979. What made THE CHINA SYNDROME particularly close was the
description of a possible disaster area "the size of the state of
Pennsylvania." Again, tragedy is averted in the film and there is reason
to believe that the problems will all be fixed before a real disaster
can occur. At least here the filmmaker deals with the "corner-cutting"
of real life which was missing from so many of the earlier movies. But
think about it. In space films and other "hard technology" films (such
as the various AIRPORT movies) there is rarely, if ever, the suggestion
of cheating on the part of the contractors or other people involved.
The problems that will be encountered will be due to unavoidable
circumstance such as a storm springing up suddenly or human weakness
(such as the pilot having a heart attack), but not to human cupidity.
Everyone involved was too noble and patriotic for that sort of thing.
On the other hand, in nuclear and biological films (those dealing with
chemicals, biological warfare, or nuclear reactors) it is almost
accepted as a given that someone will cause problems because they are
greedy and so skimp on the materials used or the time spent to check
things. "Nuclear" films seem to go with the "soft technology" of the
biological sciences here, perhaps because the aspects dwelt upon by
these films is not an explosion, but the biological after-effects of
the radiation -- not surprising, since in the techno-disaster scenarios
there must be an emphasis on the slow-acting characteristics of
radiation or there would be no characters to show. As someone once said
of THE DAY AFTER, to show an accurate nuclear war scenario takes four
steps: Introduce the characters, drop the bomb, pan the crater, roll
the credits.
Again, we should see what literature has been doing with this theme.
Although there had been previous nuclear incidents (Windscale, England
10/7/57 and Kyshtym, USSR, winter 1957 are the two largest ones), many
authors latched onto Three-Mile-Island as the archetypal nuclear
accident. In ROBOTS AND EMPIRE (Doubleday, 1985) Asimov makes it a
place that everyone avoids as being evil, even though the reason for
this is almost lost in antiquity. Of course, now that the toll at
Chernobyl has exceeded that of Three-Mile Island it is highly probable
that future generations will remember Chernobyl more than Three-Mile
Island. Asimov was being optimistic in thinking that Three-Mile Island
would be "the big one".
Michael Swanwick raised Three-Mile Island to mythical proportions, but
he does it by supposing there was a real melt-down there. In IN THE
DRIFT (Ace, 1985), the melt-down has made a swath from Three-Mile
Island northeast into New York uninhabitable. Residual fallout caused
various strange mutations, including vampires of a sort. The United
States has fallen apart because of the incident and the Mummers now run
Philadelphia. "The Drift" serves as a sort of no-man's-land between the
two states formed from the remainder of the old United States.
I haven't discussed film treatments of chemical dumping problems (FOOD
OF THE GODS), germ warfare testing (CODE NAME TRIXIE), all-out nuclear
war (TESTAMENT), or the many other problems that flesh is heir to. As
far as literary treatment of all these, Philip Wylie's END OF THE DREAM
and John Brunner's SHEEP LOOK UP are the recent definitive works in the
first two areas and everyone seems to have written a post-nuclear-holocaust
novel.
This issue is Copyright 1986, by Chuq Von Rospach
All Rights reserved
One time rights only have been acquired from the signed or credited
contributors. All rights are hereby assigned to the contributors.
Reproduction rights: Permission is given to reproduce or duplicate
OtherRealms in its entirety for non-commercial uses. Re-use,
reproduction, reprinting or republication of an individual article in
any way or on any media, printed or electronic, is forbidden without
permission of the author.
source text file
Issue 8, Part 2, September 1986
OtherRealms
A Fanzine for the Non-Fan
Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life
Issue #8
September, 1986
Part 2
Pico Reviews
Ratings:
[*****] A classic, must read book
[****] Well above average, don't miss
[***] A good book, probably worth reading
[**] Book has its moments, flawed
[*] Not recommended
[] A book to avoid
COILS by Roger Zelazny [*****]
COILS is an absolutely wonderful adventure story. Its main character
is a psychic computer programmer who has to rescue his girlfriend from
the bad guys. If you like computer consciousness and telepathy and all
that nice stuff, this is one of the best. Like many other things that
Zelazny has written, COILS is completely different from anything else
he has written.
--David Muir Sharnoff
muir@ucbvax
COUNT ZERO by William Gibson [***+]
Arbor House hardback, 1986, $15.95, 278 pages
Gibson's first book, NEUROMANCER, surprised everyone by deservingly
winning the Hugo, the Nebula, that the Philip K. Dick award. He's
back, and he's got another book to be proud of. COUNT ZERO is set in
the same society as NEUROMANCER, but is not a sequel. It is another
high velocity adventure into the inner venues of computers and their
jockeys. I don't think COUNT ZERO is quite as good as NEUROMANCER, but
it is still way ahead of the pack. Gibson can do no wrong, it seems.
-- chuq von rospach
DARKOVER LANDFALL by Marion Zimmer Bradley [****]
DAW Fantasy, 1972, $2.50
The beginning of Darkover, MZB tells the story of how the planet was
colonized. Good, solid SF, and a good introduction into the world of
Darkover. It, and the entire series, are highly recommended!
-- chuq von rospach
THE GAME OF EMPIRE by Poul Anderson [*]
Baen Books, 1985. Paperback, $3.50.
Heinlein's Disease claims another big name. A Dominic Flandry book.
Not much plot. Flandry and wife walk on, but do not advance the plot
at all. Main characters: D. F., a Terran; A., a devoutly religious
Wodenite; a cat-like being from a barbarian culture. (Sickeningly
familiar from his Polesotechnic League stories.) Style: talking-head
expositions frequently halt the "plot"; most are boring to readers of
other Flandry stories. One star for the settings (that's all Anderson
has left).
-- Tim McDaniel
mcdaniel@uicsrd.CSRD.UIUC.EDU
KILLASHANDRA by Anne McCaffrey [*+]
Del Rey, 1986, SFBC
A sequel to McCaffrey's CRYSTAL SINGER, this isn't SF. It is a
Harlequin, and McCaffrey seems to have taken up writing romances.
Unlike the warm and personal NERILKA'S STORY this book is plodding and
predictable. Girl Meets Boy. Girl Lays Boy. Girl Loses Boy. Girl
Gets Boy. This book has little to do with CRYSTAL SINGER and less to
recommend it.
-- chuq von rospach
LYTHANDE by Marion Zimmer Bradley [****+]
Daw Fantasy, August 1986, $3.50, 237 pages
A collection of six stories about MZB's character Lythande, the Adept
of the Blue Star. Lythande originated in THIEVES' WORLD, but after one
volume Bradley dropped out and Lythande moved into her own world.
Since then she has appeared in a couple of anthologies and in F&SF
magazine. Lythande was my favorite character in THIEVES' WORLD and I'm
happy to see her stories continue. These are all well written and
occasionally tongue-in-cheek accounts of Lythande's adventures. My
only gripe is with the cover. Lythande's Secret, the knowledge of
which would destroy her power, is that she is a woman, travelling as a
man. MZB handles this perfectly in the stories, but the person on the
cover is obviously female -- if THAT is Lythande, she doesn't stand a
chance. Another foobar from a sloppy artist.
-- chuq von rospach
THE SECRET TRADITION IN ARTHURIAN LEGEND []
by Gareth Knight
Aquarian books (UK) #5 95
A hopeless hodgepodge of pseudo-paganism, occult, and every other
weirdity you can think of tossed in, swirled around, and proven to be
part of the mystique of Britain's Great Hero. Feh.
-- chuq von rospach
SHELTER by Marty Asher [*****]
Arbor House hardback, 1986, $12.95 136 pages (sort of)
SHELTER is a weird book. It isn't SF, and it isn't Fantasy. The only
word for it is experimental. This is probably not a book you would
normally buy. It is very short, especially considering that each page
is only about half filled. The book, however, is like an early
Vonnegut without the anger. Asher is making a point and plays with the
words to help you see it. If you like Vonnegut's work, you'll love
SHELTER. Buy it, read it, enjoy it.
-- chuq von rospach
SPECIAL DELIVERANCE by Clifford D. Simak [***+]
Balantine, 1982, $2.75, 217 Pages
Special Deliverance is a fun little adventure. It eventually loses its
zest, but it concludes fairly soon after that. F&SF role play gamers
take note: the adventure and world could be adapted into a game with
very little trouble. The book is in a sense, too logical: given the
major premise (you learn it at the end) you realize that the whole book
had to be exactly what it was to fit the author's framework.
--David Muir Sharnoff
muir@ucbvax
THE SPELL SWORD by Marion Zimmer Bradley [****]
Daw Fantasy, 1974, $2.50
I'm finally getting around to reading the Darkover series. My only
comment is "Why did I wait so long?" The people of Darkover are a lost
civilization from Earth, a society that has built itself around
paranormal abilities. THE SPELL SWORD tells of the battle between the
Darkover people and a band of intelligent natives fighting to reclaim
their planet. Strong on suspense and a solid blend of SF and Fantasy.
-- chuq von rospach
THE STARCROSSED by Ben Bova [***-]
Jove/HJB, 1975, $1.75, 223 Pages
The Starcrossed is a comedy. In fact, it is a joke. Ben Bova writes a
satire of Hollywood in the future, that holds together fairly well for
most of the book. But reading the book, one gets the feeling that he
got bored towards the end and just tried to finish it off; he succeeded
by reducing the book to a one-line cliche. The hero/heroine plot
doesn't finish and neither do many other subplots. The book had the
potential to be very good, but what can I say?
--David Muir Sharnoff
muir@ucbvax
Readers Survey
It's been a while since I've run a readers survey, and since the
readership has grown significantly over the last few months, I thought
it would be appropriate to learn a little more about you and your
interests. The latest readership statistics show the subscriber base
to be somewhere around 4000. I'm not sure whether to believe that
number, and I hope that the surey will tie it down.
Please mail this to any of the addresses in the Masthead, either E-mail
or by more traditional ways. I am very interested in hearing from the
people off the beaten path -- it is easy to get feedback from USENET,
but much more difficult from the people with less direct access to me.
The feedback I get from these surveys helps me guide the direction of
the magazine. Surveys will be accepted until October 1, 1986.
1) Sex:
2) Age:
3) Profession:
4) Where did you get this copy? (e.g. USENET, ARPA,
BITNET, BBS, Hard Copy. Please name the BBS)
5) How many people read this copy of OtherRealms?
6) How many SF books do you read per month?
7) How many Fantasy books do you read per month?
8) How many hardcover (not book club) books did you buy
in the last year?
9) How many book club books did you buy in the last year?
10) What SF and Fantasy magazines do you read?
11) What Fanzines (other than OtherRealms) do you read?
12) What SF conventions do you attend?
13) What do you think are the best and worst features of
OtherRealms? What would you like to see added?
Gateway
(part one of a trilogy)
Frederic Pohl
Del Rey books, $2.95, 313 pages
[*****]
Reviewed by
Dave Taylor
taylor@hplabs.ARPA
Copyright 1986 by Dave Taylor
For all you fans who've been following my complaints about not finding
anything worth reading: good news! I've finally found a book not only
worth reading, but worth buying to be able to read again and again!
GATEWAY is the first of three books by Frederic Pohl known as the
"Heechee Saga. " The premise of the series is that as we continue
expanding our exploration of the galaxy we encounter mysterious
artifacts from an alien race that appears to have disappeared millions
of years ago. This race, for reasons unknown, are dubbed the "Heechees"
and become a road for unimaginable riches and technologies.
The first book opens some time after the initial discovery of the
"Heechee" artifacts. A corporation has been formed by all the
superpowers to exploit the artifacts and they're based in an asteroid
orbiting our Sun on an orbit considerably skewed from the plane of the
planets. This base is called Gateway and is a sort of Grand Central
Station of Heechee ships. Unfortunately, the technology to program
courses into the ships hasn't yet been worked out, so there is a group
of people called prospectors who climb into the ships and press the
start button. Some of them come back after having been to new planets,
others go to other Heechee artifacts, and some never come back at
all.
The main protagonist of the story is Robin (for Robinette) Broadhead.
Through his eyes and emotions we learn the terror of taking an
uncontrolled flights, the alien strangeness of the Heechee and the
Gateway, and the breakdown of his rationality and slow reconstruction
with the aid of a computer program he calls "Sigfrid Von Shrink.
"
The book starts with a discussion between Robin and Sigfrid, and the
chapters alternate between their discussions centered around Robin's
anguish and frustration at his condition and the events that
transpired. I found myself wishing for the book to be told in either
vein instead of both, but really wasn't that harmful to the narrative.
For those that are impressed with awards, the book has won, quite
deservingly, the Hugo and Nebula awards. I'd give it a top rating and
recommend it for anyone who likes SF!
David Lindsay,
the Arcturan Voyager
Gary A. Allen, Jr.
ESG7@DFVLROP1.BITNET
Copyright 1986 by Gary A. Allen, Jr.
David Lindsay is a unique phenomenon in Science Fiction. He was a
contemporary of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. However, he was so far ahead
of its time that today he is widely regarded as an author without equal.
Lindsay's history as an author is both sad and interesting. Lindsay was
born on 3 March 1878 in a London suburb. Until about 1916, he worked
as an insurance clerk for Lloyd's of London and had not written a
single book. In 1916 at age 38, he married and opted to give up his
secure job as a clerk to take up writing. His first book is in the
opinion of many his greatest achievement. This book was entitled A
VOYAGE TO ARCTURUS and was published in 1920. His second book THE
HAUNTED WOMAN was published one year later. THE HAUNTED WOMAN is regarded
by some commentators as being even better than A VOYAGE TO ARCTURUS.
Both books were commercial failures and were remaindered. A VOYAGE TO
ARCTURUS sold only 596 copies from a press run of 1430 copies. The
London Times panned the book without mercy, and it was subjected to
ridicule by contemporary literary critics. It should be emphasized that
these first two books represented the commercial high point of
Lindsay's career as an author. His later books, which even by modern
standards were inferior to the first two, fared even worse in the
commercial world. By 1939 after failing to find a publisher for his
last book THE WITCH, Lindsay gave up writing and turned to running a
boarding house for a living. On 6 June 1945, David Lindsay, a broken
and despondent man, died from a tooth infection.
The writings of David Lindsay would have died a dusty death along with
their author had not Victor Gollancz, a friend, republished A VOYAGE TO
ARCTURUS in 1946, one year after Lindsay's death. Then something truly
marvelous happened: 26 years after the book had been written, it
achieved a limited popularity. Even so, it was not popular with the
general public. Instead it was an underground success with England's
literary elite.
One of Lindsay's early fans was the Christian apologist C.S. Lewis.
Lewis wrote about Lindsay in a letter to Charles Brady:
The real father of my planet books is David Lindsay's A VOYAGE
TO ARCTURUS, which you will also revel in if you don't know
it. I had grown up on Wells' stories of that kind, but it was
Lindsay who first gave me the idea that the "scientifiction"
appeal could be combined with the "supernatural" appeal.
From that time on A VOYAGE TO ARCTURUS was considered required reading
among England's literary elite, and yet his books were once again out
of print and seemed destined for obscurity. It didn't happen, as about
every 15 years a reprint would turn up. His works have never had a
wide popularity. Nevertheless, Lind-say's books have always
maint-ained a core of devoted readers that refuses to dissipate with
time. Lindsay himself realized this would occur and once commented to
Gollancz: "Somewhere in the world, someone will be reading a book of
mine every year. " Many books and articles have been written about
Lindsay and A VOYAGE TO ARCTURUS. The following are the more important
commentaries:
The Strange Genius of David Lindsay by John Baker 1970
The Haunted Man by Colin Wilson 1979
David Lindsay by Gary K. Wolfe 1982
The story of A VOYAGE TO ARCTURUS has a rather mundane beginning. By
page 39 (page references refer to the Gregg press edition which is a
reprint of the 1920 original), one is seriously thinking of flinging
the book into the trash can. In the first 39 pages all that apparently
happens is that the 3 principle characters meet and are transported
from the Earth to an alien planet which will be the scene of action.
The reader is accosted with some rather bizarre names: The three chief
characters are Maskull, Krag, and Nightspore. The alien planet is
called Tormance. If the reader had pitched the book into the trash
before reaching Tormance he would have made a big mistake. The boredom
of the first 39 pages and the funny names are all calculated for an
effect. The transition from Earth to Tormance is absolutely
breathtaking. The closest analogy I can think of is from the movie THE
WIZARD OF OZ where Dorothy walks from her house into the land of Oz,
the film changes from black and white to color, and Dorothy announces,
"You know Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." From that point
on the reader is kept in a perpetual state of information overflow.
I'm not talking about the overflow in a low grade Fantasy Role Playing
game where the author is pouring forth zillions of proper nouns without
definition. Rather, we're speaking about concepts, symbolism and fast
paced action. David Lindsay did something that no one else in SF
achieved in that he pushed the SF literary form to its limits and had
then gone beyond. The story of A VOYAGE TO ARCTURUS could not be
expressed in any other medium.
The chief character, Maskull has discovered himself on a world where
one grows and discards new senses and awarenesses with seeming
abandon. The premise upon which the novel is based is the concept of
God as an immoral and unethical entity. The true God of Tormance is
Surtur. Surtur is a creative deity from which all life emanates.
However an anti-God, Shaping, has overthrown Surtur and dominates
Tormance. Shaping feeds on life itself by giving the life force a
physical form. Maskull is unwittingly thrown into the middle of this
cosmic struggle between these two deities. Maskull was sent to
Tormance by the personification of Surtur, Krag. However he was
literally left naked and totally ignorant of the true state of affairs
upon his arrival on Tormance. Shaping, the god of lies, has the first
crack at Maskull. From there the story unfolds as Maskull travels
through the surrealistic landscape of Tormance to his own ultimate
destruction and resurrection.
One can read A VOYAGE TO ARCTURUS for pure entertainment. There is
lots of action and interesting characters are brought in with almost
wild abandon. Lindsay creates plot devices, SF concepts, and sensual
imagery that I've seen no where else.
The real thrill to this book, however, is in its intellectual
challenge. Everything in this book has triple nested symbolism. The
name Tormance can be broken down to romance, torment, dominance. Pain
is associated with Surtur, while pleasure is associated with Shaping.
The name Maskull leads to man and skull, which symbolizes the conflict
of the spirit and the body. Everything in the story is color coded.
There are five colors on Tormance based on two color systems, which in
turn are based on the two stars of the Arcturan system. The first
color system is from the star Branchspell and uses the colors yellow,
red, and blue. The second color system is from the star Alppain and
uses the colors jale, ulfire, and blue. Branchspell is the larger star
and has associations with Shaping. Alppain is a small blue binary
companion and is associated with Surtur. The colors red and jale are
compliments and associated with feeling. The colors yellow and blue
are also compliments and associated with relation. The colors blue and
ulfire form the last compliments and are associated with existence. If
a creature appears in the plot and it is colored red and ulfire, the
reader knows that the creature has the qualities of feeling and
existence and is affected by both stars and deities. By now it should
be clear by what I mean by information overflow.
The theme of the book is a SF presentation of the philosophies of
Nietzsche and Schopenhauer. If you are not overwhelmed by the
information or the symbolism, then the philosophy will blow you away.
His works demonstrate the power of SF as a consciousness expansion aid
and a medium for abstract thinking. I strongly recommend the works of
David Lindsay.
This issue is Copyright 1986, by Chuq Von Rospach
All Rights reserved
One time rights only have been acquired from the signed or credited
contributors. All rights are hereby assigned to the contributors.
Reproduction rights: Permission is given to reproduce or duplicate
OtherRealms in its entirety for non-commercial uses. Re-use,
reproduction, reprinting or republication of an individual article in
any way or on any media, printed or electronic, is forbidden without
permission of the author.
source text file
Issue 8, Part 3, September 1986
OtherRealms
A Fanzine for the Non-Fan
Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life
Issue #8
September, 1986
Part 3
Godbody
Theodore Sturgeon
Donald I. Fine Books [SFBC]
[*****]
and
Radio Free Albemuth
Philip K. Dick
Arbor House [SFBC]
[**]
Reviewed by
Chuq Von Rospach
Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach
It is unfortunate that the books I am reviewing were published
posthumously. Both authors were at the forefront of the field,
constantly searching for and expanding the horizons and testing the
limits of the genre.
It interesting that both books are echoes of past works. GODBODY is
similar in feel to Sturgeon's MORE THAN HUMAN. ALBEMUTH is a new
examination of the society Dick wrote about in MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE.
Sturgeon's work is more successful. GODBODY is probably his best work,
and it is definitely his most controversial. It is not SF or Fantasy.
It could be defined as a softcore religious novel. It involves a being
called Godbody and the effect that He has on a number of people in a
small American town. Godbody is about the return of Christ, a being
that is openly hostile to the structures and hypocrisy of the Christian
religious organizations.
Sturgeon has written some very explicit sex scenes. Readers that are
bothered by this material should avoid the book. The sexual material
is not there to titillate but to open the mind of the reader and make
them see the effects of Godbody's work.
The plot is simple. Godbody enters the town, some people accept Him
and heal, some reject Him and don't. The latter eventually kill Him,
but He rises to continue His work elsewhere.
This is an intense book, driven forward by the characterization and the
emotional response it forces from the reader. It cannot be skimmed; it
forces the reader to dig in and react. You may love this book or you
may hate it, but it will not leave you unaffected. GODBODY is an
appropriate epitaph for Sturgeon. GODBODY is about what Sturgeon was
about: that LOVE is all, and that to love is everything. This is the
book I think he would have wanted to be remembered by, it does his
memory justice.
RADIO FREE ALBEMUTH, unlike GODBODY, is an older manuscript (written
around 1976) and unpublished until after the authors death.
Undiscovered manuscripts worry me because if a work is written and not
published, there is usually a good reason. Bringing it out
posthumously rarely does an author justice. So it is in this case.
ALBEMUTH is a pale cry to Dick's best works.
The book looks at a society similar to THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE;
unlike that other work, it is not an alternate universe, but a near
future society in which the radical conservatives have taken over
America. This work is really the first try of the novel that was
published as VALIS.
The book opens in Berkeley, portrayed as an enclave of liberal sanity
in a world gone mad. Nicholas Brady sells records in a Berkeley
store. He also hears voices. He is given a chance to join a record
company in Los Angeles, and moves into the conservative country of
Orange County so that the voices can speak to him more clearly.
Brady, with the help of the voices, is attempting to save the country
from its oppressive self, while not giving himself (or the voices) away
to the authorities. The voices (known as Valis) are really coming from
some alien satellite in orbit around the Earth.
There are a number of problems with the work. One major one is that it
is a self-referential novel. The lead character is Phil, SF author.
He is telling about his interactions with his friend Brady. He makes
comments about the story, about other novels he has written, and
generally gets in the way and confuses things. The book would have
been better off switching the point of view to Brady and tossing Phil
out.
More importantly, though, is that this work is little more than an
anti-conservative rhetoric. It doesn't explore the issues, it
postures. Unlike MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE, which looked at the
ramifications of repression, this book is so dogmatic in its views that
nothing else is given a chance to come through. It is shallow,
one-sided and not very well thought out. The book is flawed, and there
is good reason why it wasn't published before now. It can be of
interest only to Dick completists.
Letters
to
OtherRealms
--------------------------
On
Women in Fantastic
Armies
--------------------------
Courtenay notices the prevalence, in recent Fantasy literature, of
women in low-technology armies on equal footing with men. Courtenay
finds this unrealistic. I will not address all of Courtenay's points,
since many of them are valid points about writing style. Some of them,
however, seem to be based on ethnocentric assumptions.
I agree that there are unarguable differences between men and women. My
experience is that this difference is overrated by most people due to
unconscious sexism. When dealing with soldiers or martial artists, any
comparisons of the "average" man with the "average" woman are irrelevant.
A trained fighter who maintains training is NOT to be considered
average.
Courtenay mentions that men are stronger and larger than women and
therefore have a combat advantage. It is true on the average that a
stronger, quicker, or larger person is at an advantage when dealing
with a smaller, slower, or weaker person who is otherwise of
approximately equal skill. However....
A woman of normal size and weight, who has practiced with a foil,
sabre, epee, or sword, will be about as strong as the majority of men
who have undergone similar practice. The upper-body mass becomes a
significant consideration only with some men, and then only after they
reach about age 21 or so. Teenage boys will be on about the same
footing as women. In any low-tech setting, this means that the women
are on about the same footing as most of the men in the army; remember
that low technology implies other things, like a general shift
downwards in the average age.
With this consideration, looking objectively at human history and at
social forces, the presence of women in the armies becomes less of a
problem if, as in some of the early Macedonian-region city-states, a
way is found to keep the women in the armies from getting pregnant.
The real barriers, and those which keep women out of active combat
roles in modern, high technology armies, is that sexism is very much a
part of the military mindset. For various reasons, human societies in
Fantasy tend to be slightly changed versions of the late-20th century
Western society. In our society, the military mindset says that men
must protect women, who are (it claims) unable to protect themselves,
and necessary as producers of new soldiers. The modern army is very
male, very macho, and rather hidebound when it comes to changing ANY of
the rules, written or unwritten.
This overblown machismo is the reason why women are no longer accepted
as combat troops in the Israeli army: the super-macho attitude of the
Arabs they were fighting would not allow themselves to be captured by
women, who in their society were considered slightly less than
animals. They would die before they would surrender.
Societal rules partition the roles of men and women. Low-tech cultures
tend to reflect the roles which were part of the more primitive culture
from which they probably derived. If women were not hunters, then they
wouldn't be likely to be warriors, because the warrior tradition
derives from the competition between two tribes for hunting grounds.
Similarly if women were the keepers of ritual and knowledge, then they
would be likely to hold positions of leadership in armies.
Finally, my experience with several martial arts have shown me that, in
fact, women make good hand-to-hand combatants, with the advantages of a
lower center of gravity, greater flexibility and endurance, and a more
objective, less emotional and competitive attitude than most men seem
to have.
Stephen Hutchison
hutch@volkstation.GWD.TEK.COM
--------------------------
More on
Women in Fantastic Armies
--------------------------
I beg to differ with Courtenay's article on women in armies. While she
did say that it was merely for general army use, most armies in
speculative fiction are not merely handtohand. As an example, Diane
Duane's armies used Flame as well as the usual projection weapons, such
as arrow and spears and such
Very little combat is only hand to hand. In swordplay, there is no
distinct advantage to one that can sprint, do lots of pushups, and has
long arms. In fact, if one does not know exactly what one is doing
long arms can be a distinct disadvantage. Balance, flexibility,
control, and eye-hand coordination along with training are equally
important, and I would say that given two combatants, female and male,
with the same amount of training there would be no edge, as women are
generally better balanced, are better able to control reaction, and are
more flexible. The only reason that I don't see as many women in
fencing is because the prevailing attitude in the Real World is one
that says women shouldn't Fence!!
Taller is never an advantage, stronger and faster are only advantages
if one is able to control them. Anyone can learn control, however it
seems that women are more able to learn in the early stages the
patience needed for control and timing. My female fencing students are
usually the best students. So, for an ill-trained or semi-trained army
that uses only swords, perhaps women would be more feasible than
realized. I, a 5'10" female, have handily beaten 6'5" males, and have
been beaten by 4'11" females, and all of us had about similar
training. And one of the smaller ladies weighed the same that I
did...
Once you get to the higher levels of any martial art you find that
physical differences, no matter what they are, can be turned to an
advantage.
Take the featherweight boxing at the Goodwill games. There was one
boxer that I saw two rounds of. In the first, he was the taller of the
two by about four inches, he stayed back and planted punches from a
distance, making the shorter one back up, and never get into his
range. In the second contest he was the shorter by about three to four
inches, and he made a complete switch in strategy, he would go into
clinches, body blows and stay inside the distance of the taller boxer
where the taller fighter had to keep his arms back and mostly bent,
where they had the least power and control. The boxer I was watching
used his height, and even- though it was shorter, he used it to an
advantage by taking away his opponent's possible advantages...
So, I disagree with the assessment of females in speculative fiction.
From my own experience in fencing, tai-chi, tai-qwon-do, and watching
people in combat, I can say that females are just as capable of
learning how to use weapons and, perhaps, better able to learn them
quickly.
Liralen Li
li@uw-vlsi.arpa
[There are a lot of factors that complicate things. For
example, women have better stamina than men, better eye-hand
coordination, and better balance. Any man that doesn't
overwhelm a woman quickly in battle may find themselves in
trouble. Also, women make better calvary. There are many
situations where a woman could fight as well as (or better
than) a man, and if an author wants to do so, let them. They
do need to think it through, though, and many authors get
needlessly sloppy here and fall into some of the traps that
were pointed out in the article. From what I've read, the
number of books that screw it up significantly outnumber the
ones that don't. chuq]
--------------------------
Comments on #7
--------------------------
On THE SORCERY WITHIN
Chuq lists the author as Dave Smeds and then says, Feist works a number of
seemingly unrelated subplots together with great skill. Which one is it?!
[Argh! It is Dave Smeds. I think I'll start a new contest:
Screwup of the Month award. That way I'll be able to claim
that I do these things on purpose. chuq]
On FUZZIES AND OTHER PEOPLE
It seems unfair to accuse Piper of "Ewok cuteness," since he died twenty
years before RETURN OF THE JEDI. Accuse Michael Whelan, rather, of
painting covers for the new editions of the "Fuzzy" novels to look like Ewoks.
On OtherRealms Formatting
In print, the titles of novels are underlined or italicized; the titles
of short stories are enclosed in quotation marks. Electronically, the
quotation marks can still be used for short stories, but something else
needs to be done for novels. I prefer all caps, and have a distaste
for the USENET custom of preceding and following the title with a
single underscore. The underscores don't set the title apart enough
for my taste.
[I agree with you on the underline problem. Using underlines
is ugly, but with both single quote and double quote used, the
ASCII character set doesn't leave me a lot of choices. You end
up either doing something substandard or you use caps and YELL
AT PEOPLE ALL THE TIME.
I changed this starting this issue. To some degree, titles
should stand out. The readers of the hardcopy OtherRealms
don't have this problem, thanks to the wonders of the
Macintosh, but using all caps on the network makes the
electronic OtherRealms a little cleaner looking chuq]
On the "no media" rule:
I notice this was new in this issue. While I don't want to see
OtherRealms turn into another "let's-all-reviews-ALIENS-this-
month-and-wasn't-STAR-WARS-great" magazine, I think this rule may be too
harsh. The folk music group review, for example, was worth printing.
I hope that you won't be overly strict in interpreting this. I do not
think an occasional reference to film or TV, when appropriate, will do
much harm.
[The new rules are just part of my ongoing process of defining
what OtherRealms really is. When I started it I planned on
printing just about whatever came in. There are two problems
with this. First, I simply don't have the space to print
everything, so I feel that to continue publishing a good
magazine I have to specialize. Second, the interests of the
readership of this magazine tend to be pretty
specialized -- reading SF and Fantasy.
The thrust of OtherRealms is to review the field, help people
make purchasing decisions on books, discover new authors, and
learn more about SF and Fantasy. I don't feel movies fit into
this mold. Discussion of media as it relates to books would be
fine, though.
What this is is a prioritization. I did the same with the
writing oriented material. The group of people interested in
that material is a small percentage of the total readership, so
it makes sense that the limited number of pages I can print
each month go to things that most people will appreciate. If I
have the space, I'll happily run articles that range far and
away from the primary goals of the magazine. If an article is
really good, I'll make room. But given an review on a book and
an equivalently written article on wildflowers, I'll print the
book review. chuq]
Evelyn C. Leeper
(201) 957-2070
ihnp4!mtgzy!ecl
mtgzy!ecl@topaz.rutgers.edu
--------------------------
Bermuda Triangle in '88?
--------------------------
Chuq,
Just thought I'd drop you a line and let you know that Bermuda Triangle
in '88, a 1988 World Science Fiction Convention bid, can be reached at:
ihnp4!homebru!bermuda
Any and all mail will be properly appreciated Send all requests for
information to the above address.
Ben Liberman
Cruise Ship Liason
Bermuda Triangle in '88
(an out of the country bid)
OtherRealms Notes
Fiction!
OtherRealms is starting to publish fiction. I've been considering this
move for a while and trying to decide the best format to use. I've
decided to simply add a new article slot to each issue, after the Pico
reviews. If I have a story, I'll use it. If not, I'll drop in an
article of some other type. This will make OtherRealms a little
larger, but I think this is a much better method than a quarterly
supplement. Easier on my nerves, too.
Submissions should be made to the normal addresses, E-mail or
hardcopy. Works should be SF or Fantasy, or both if you can figure out
how. Works up to 10,000 words will be considered, but longer works
will be serialized over two issues.
The Swimsuit Issue
I've made a decision to take December off. Why? The month of December
is full of holidays and things get slow in the SF world. Since I don't
want to do what Sports Illustrated does (how do you get a Troll in a
bikini, anyway?) I'm just going to skip a month. The December issue
will be out the end of November, as usual, and OtherRealms will take up
again in January with the February issue.
Masthead
This issue is Copyright 1986, by Chuq Von Rospach
All Rights reserved
One time rights only have been acquired from the signed or credited
contributors. All rights are hereby assigned to the contributors.
Reproduction rights: Permission is given to reproduce or duplicate
OtherRealms in its entirety for non-commercial uses. Re-use,
reproduction, reprinting or republication of an individual article in
any way or on any media, printed or electronic, is forbidden without
permission of the author.
OtherRealms is Published monthly, except for December, by:
Chuq Von Rospach
160 Pasito Terrace #712
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
USENET: {major_node}!sun!chuq
ARPA: chuq@sun.COM
CompuServe: 73317,635
Publishers: Review copies should be sent to this address for consideration.
Submission Policy
OtherRealms publishes articles on Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
with an emphasis on reviews. Please, no media articles. I am very
interested in the newer and lesser known authors. Anything of interest
to the serious reader of the genre is welcome.
Pico reviews are welcome from everyone. Duplicate the format used in
this issue and limit your comments to one paragraph.
OtherRealms is accepting fiction. Fiction must be previously
unpublished, under 10,000 words, and first serial rights are
requested.
Authors should include their U.S. Mail address, even if submitting by
E-mail. Bionotes are welcome. A writers guide is available. If you
want to write for OtherRealms, please ask for a copy.All letters will
be considered for publication unless requested otherwise. All published
material is subject to editing for length, content and style to conform
to OtherRealms standards.
Subscriptions
OtherRealms is available in two forms: electronic and paper. The
electronic OtherRealms is available through the newsgroup
"mod.mag.otherrealms" on the USENET network. For those on the UUCP,
ARPANET, BITNET and CSNET computer networks without access to this
group, a mailing list subscription is available. OtherRealms is also
available through the following bulletin boards:
SCI-FIDO, (415) 655-0667.
The Terraboard, Fidonet number 14/341, (612)721-8967.
Dim_Sum Fido, Fidonet number 146/5, (503) 644-6129
UNaXcess, 781-6201, log in as "bbs"
Other BBS systems are welcome to make OtherRealms available on their
systems. Either copy it from an available system or contact me. If
you do make it available, I would like to hearing about it.
The paper OtherRealms is available from the above address for $20 for
11 issues, $10 for five, or $2.00 for one. Please make checks payable
to "Chuq Von Rospach." Fanzine trading rules apply: if your article is
printed in OtherRealms or you send me your Fanzine you get a free copy.
source text file
Issue 9 — October 1986
Issue 9, Part 1, October 1986
OtherRealms
A Reviewzine for the Non-Fan
Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life
Issue #9
October, 1986
Table of Contents
Part 1
The Dream Years
by Dan'l Danehy-Oakes
Reviewing the Reviewers
by Chuq Von Rospach
Schismatrix
by Michael C. Berch
Books Received
Part 2
Pico Reviews
1986 Hugo Awards
OtherRealms Notes
Part 3
Words of Wizdom
Reviews by Chuq Von Rospach
Insufficient Transmission
Fiction by Jim Brunet
End Papers
by Chuq Von Rospach
The Dream Years
by
Lisa Goldstein
Bantam Books, $2.95, 195 pages
[****+]
Reviewed by Dan'l Danehy-Oakes
djo@ptsfd.UUCP
Copyright 1986 by Dan'l Danehy Oakes
This is not the easiest book in the world to read. It isn't
"difficult," in the sense of DHALGREN, but it keeps yanking the rug out
from under its readers -- the reader builds up a set of assumptions
about "what kind of novel this is," and then the damned thing goes and
violates those assumptions.
The first thing to notice about it is that nowhere on the cover is THE
DREAM YEARS marked with the term SF, Fantasy, or indeed any genre label
whatsoever. This is good, for reasons I'll come back to later. Things
become rather more problematic if one reads the blurb, which is both
misleading and egregious: it will tend to encourage the reader to think
they are in possession of a sf novel, which is not true.
We are introduced to our protagonist immediately; he is Robert St.
Onge, a novelist in the Surrealist movement in Paris, 1924. The reader
may thus begin to organize the data as if this were an historical novel
about that place and time.
By the end of Chapter 1, however, Robert has moved, with neither
intention nor explanation, to the Paris of 1968, and returned. The
reader who (whether because of the blurb, or because the book was found
in that section of the bookshop) was expecting science fiction now
believes that they have confirmed that expectation.
But, in the same sequence, the antagonist is introduced: a horned human
figure constructed mostly of fur and metal, with a droning, hypnotic
voice; in short, a mythic figure. The mythic nature of this creature
becomes more pronounced in subsequent appearances, jarring with the
science fictional elements until the reader may be forced to reorganize
his/her reception of the novel as fantasy.
THE DREAM YEARS is not, however, fantasy, any more than it is sf or
historical. Ms. Goldstein has succeeded in producing a true surrealist
novel, a novel whose images, actions, and characters derive from the
subconscious, not of the individual writer or reader, but of the
culture, and which, finally, transcend that culture.
You may have gathered by now that I liked this book. I did, very much.
It is NOT a perfect book. There are a few lines of dialogue
(particularly when the principal female character, Solange, talks about
"a love more powerful than time," or words to that effect) which struck
me as nothing more than heavy-handed cliche, and the one thing that a
book of this sort can not afford is cliche.
Nonetheless, THE DREAM YEARS overcomes what is, finally, a very light
dose of cliche.
THE DREAM YEARS is a very, very impressive book, a major achievement
from a writer whose first book (THE RED MAGICIAN) seemed to leave her
nowhere to go but down. (THE RED MAGICIAN, because of its "type,"
because of its extremely personal nature, and especially because of its
unusual (for a first novel) success, seemed to me to threaten a career
of endless repetition; and at the same time, I had some concern on
picking up TDY that, given her success at writing one type of novel, Ms
Goldstein might prove unable to make the "leap" into another. She has
skimmed very neatly indeed between this Scylla and that Charybdis.) I
recommend this one with no reservations.
Reviewing the Reviewers
by
Chuq Von Rospach
Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach
There are upwards of 100 titles published in the Science Fiction and
Fantasy genres a month. Trying to keep up with this number of books is
impossible, and no single person or publication, can hope to cover
everything. With a limited amount of time and money to spend on books,
everyone must set priorities on which books to buy and which to let
pass.
Helping a consumer make those decisions is the primary purpose of a
book review. Most magazines review books to some degree. In this
article I'm going to take a look at the magazines and their reviewers
to give you an idea of other places you might want to look for ideas on
what to add to your reading list.
First, though, a quick sidetrip. A distinction has to be made between
the job of a reviewer and that of a critic. A reviewer asks the
questions "What?" and "Is it good?" They try to put themselves in the
place of the reader and help the reader decide which books they want to
read and which they want to enjoy.
The critic, on the other hand, asks the question "Why?" They look at
the book as it relates to the genre and try to put it in some kind of
perspective. Reviewing is a practical, down to earth evaluation.
Criticism is an attempt to look at something from the point of view of
Art, to look beyond the words into their underlying importance, and to
spot the places that the field is going (or should be). Criticism
requires a strong knowledge of writing, of the genre, and of the people
in it.
Lets look at some of the people who look at the books for you. There
are five major fiction magazines: Amazing Stories, Analog Science
Fiction/Science Fact, Fantasy and Science Fiction (F&SF), Isaac
Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine (IASFM), and Omni. Of these, Omni
does not have regular book reviews, and Amazing stories is in process
of changing reviewers (prior to the November, 1986 issue reviews were
split between Robert Coulson and John Betancourt. November has no
review column, and I've heard that Charles Waugh will be taking over
the position).
The book column in Analog is written by Tom Easton. As fits the
strongly SF bent of the magazine, there is little Fantasy in his
column. He tends to be analytical, taking whatever length necessary to
put the book in perspective for the reader. He doesn't get overly
wordy, though, and rarely emotionalizes or hypes a book. For me,
Easton is the epitome of the reviewer. Art rarely rears its head in
his column, and he rarely misses the point in a book. I consider this
the best review column in the industry, and SF readers should have him
on their list every month.
At the other end of the spectrum, Algis Budrys writes the book review
column for F&SF. A.J. is a critic from the word go, and his columns
wander far and wide over the genre and life in general, using the books
he reviews as cornerstones for discussions of the wider ranging topics
that revolve around SF and Fantasy. If you are interested in seeing
those books put into perspective with the whole of SF, then A.J. is the
only game in town. A.J. happens to be indirectly responsible for the
existence of this magazine, since he was willing to sit and talk at
length about reviewing at Baycon a couple of year ago, and was silly
enough to suggest that a reviewzine might not be a bad idea. The
results you hold in your hand. I've decided I want to be A.J. Budrys
if I ever grow up; higher praise is not possible.
Baird Searles writes the column for IASFM. He is somewhere between
Easton and Budrys, writing what are primarily reviews with an
occasional sidetrack while putting things in perspective. He reviews a
lot more Fantasy than Easton, but I don't think he does quite the same
analytical work; he is more intuitive and emotional. I also don't
feel that he has quite the critical grasp as Budrys, but he doesn't
pretend to. His writing is quite accessible and he is fun to read.
Being third in this race is nothing to be ashamed of, it is almost a
photo finish for all.
All of the reviewers in the prozines do a fine job. You could read any
one of them and find books you probably would have missed otherwise.
For a serious reader, any of them would be a good reason to subscribe
to the magazine if you aren't already. My only real problem with the
prozines is that space is always at a premium, and the columns aren't
given enough space to do a thorough job. The books they review they do
fine, but they don't review enough of them. To some degree or another
they also tend to review works that don't need further comment at the
expense of the newer and lesser known works that deserve some
publicity. My belief is that Asimov or Clarke don't NEED another
review, especially when it means that Dave Smeds' or Katharine Kerr or
Marty Asher don't get any notice at all. The reviewers should spend
more time nurturing the next generation and new new trends in the
field, not creating more publicity for the old masters.
The second place to find reviews is in the semiprozines. Of these, the
two best known are Locus and Science Fiction Chronicle. Both are
monthly newsmagazine for the SF field and keep their readers informed
with what is happening in publishing and fandom. The magazine Fantasy
Review is less well known, but is a Fantasy and review oriented monthly.
Locus runs three review columns, by Faren Miller, Debbie Notkin, and
Dan Chow. Amy Thompson has also started reviewing short fiction, both
magazine and anthology published. There is no duplication between the
columns, so a large number of books get covered every month.
Of the three, Notkin is far and away the best reviewer. She tends to
review fewer books than the Miller or Chow, spending more time with
each one. She has a good mix of both SF and Fantasy, is strongly
analytical and at the same time has a good feel for criticism. I
consider her reviews, alone of the semipro group, to be on a par with
the pro magazine columns. Notkin is just one of many good reasons for
subscribing to Locus, but she is an important one.
Faren Miller reviews a lot more Fantasy than Debbie. She has a good
sense for Fantasy, less so for SF. My only problem is that she seems
to aim for criticism, but falls short, leaving some of her reviews
muddled and unclear. There is potential here, sometimes unrealized.
When she is good, she is good, but I find her inconsistent.
The third Locus reviewer, Dan Chow, is hard for me to comment on,
simply because I stopped reading him months ago. Chow has a tendency
to fall into two reviewer traps: reading the authors motivations into
a book and using a book as an excuse to review or comment upon an
author. In my eyes, the only thing that matters is the word, and the
person behind it should be safe from attack. Chow has, on occasion,
stepped beyond the realm of good taste and gone after an author, and I
just won't tolerate that. I went back through recent issues for this
article, and he seems to have gotten this tendency under control to a
good degree, but I still don't think he has picked up a sense for
evaluating books and turning them into reviews. His columns have
little personality and little to recommend them.
Science Fiction Chronicle has one reviewer, Don D. Amassa. He seems to
have taken as his task reviewing everything in the world -- a recent
issue had 42 reviews in it, and he rarely reviews less than 20 a
month. He gets the completeness award, but there is always a tradeoff
between volume and quality, and he falls well short in the latter.
Most of the reviews are little more than a typical Pico review in
OtherRealms, and many of them are nothing more than plot summaries. In
a number of cases, it is impossible to tell what he thinks about a work
or whether it is worth reading from the review -- just what it is
about. I wonder if he really reads all of those things, or whether
he's cribbing from the cover notes. He would likely do everyone a
favor, and enjoy the books a lot more, if he would read less and
discuss them more completely. As it stands, though, his column is not
recommended.
Fantasy Review(FR) takes an approach similar to our Pico reviews. It
has a large section of reviews written by a number of different
people. Because of this, the quality is erratic, but in general FR is
a useful tool for finding a comment about most recent books. They try
hard to cover the entire field -- Fantasy, SF, Horror and non-fiction
entries. Overall, they do a very good job and, for me, do the best of
the semi-pro magazines. They have just been bought by a new publisher,
but the editor will remain with the magazine. All this is for the
good, as it looks like the chronic financial shortages will finally
end. On the negative side, the person running the review section,
Carol McGuirk, is leaving the magazine for a number of reasons, not the
least of which is getting stuck in the middle of an assinine political
battle with the Science Fiction Research Association. The SFRA is
being idiotic, and we're losing a serious genre resource because of
it. She's left a strong reviewing system, though, and hopefully someone
will step in and carry it forward. Fantasy Review is highly recommended.
Finally, an honorable mention. Science Fiction Review, a Fanzine
published by Richard Geis, has been the premier review oriented fanzine
for a number of years, and a number of different authors have been
known to hang out there. There are quarterly review columns by Geis,
by Paulette Minare, by Gene DeWeese and Elton Elliot. Other people
also review works on an irregular basis, including Larry Niven, Dean
Lambe and Charles de Lint. Orson Scott Card does the Herculean job of
trying to review AND criticize the previous few months short fiction,
and does a great job of it.
SFR is what a reviewzine ought to be, and it is a lot more beside. I
would normally cajole all of you into subscribing, but Geis has
decided to end the magazine. A lot of very good voices, especially
Card and deWeese, will be stilled when this happens. I will miss my
quarterly SFR fix.
If you only want to read one reviewer, read Easton, and anyone serious
about SF should be reading Budry's column for the perspective it
brings. I also highly recommend subscriptions to Fantasy Review and
Locus, not just for reviews but for all of their material. The most
important thing, though, is to find the reviewers that match your style
of reading and stick with them.
Subscription Information
Here are the prices and addresses to subscribe to the semiprozines
mentioned in this article. The prozines can be found at most large
newstands.
Fantasy Review: $20/year (12 issues)
500 N.W. 20th Street
Boca Raton, FL 33431
Locus: $24/year (12 issues)
P.O. Box 13305
Oakland, CA 94661
SF Chronicle: $23.40.year (12 issues)
P.O. Box 4175, New York, NY 10163-4175
Schismatrix
by
Bruce Sterling
Ace, 1986, 288 pages, $2.95
[****+]
Reviewed by
Michael C. Berch
mcb@lll-tis-b.ARPA
Copyright 1986 by Michael C. Berch
At a recent con panel on the Cyberpunk movement, John Shirley called
this "the novel that should have won the Hugo" instead of William
Gibson's NEUROMANCER. I'm not sure I agree, but SCHISMATRIX is
nonetheless a very fine, absorbing, and complex book.
SCHISMATRIX is a novel painted on a very large canvas: the numerous
orbiting worlds of the solar system after humanity has expanded beyond
Earth. These worlds and their political and cultural movements dissolve
and re-form and Sterling traces their fulminations through the eyes of
Abelard Lindsay, a former diplomat and current revolutionary,
entrepreneur, and politician. Life extension and mental/physical
enhancement are available through various biotechnologies, but humans
have split into two factions: the Mechanists, who use prosthetics,
bioelectronics, and lots of drugs and the Shapers, who prefer genetic
engineering and physical/mental conditioning.
The two factions are at war, but the fighting is on many fronts
(military, commercial, technological), and the battle lines are
blurred. Indeed, Lindsay is himself a hybrid of the two factions, and
he is alternately drawn to one or the other, or as often as not to a
new faction that is an offshoot of both. The Mechanist/Shaper universe
will be familiar to readers of Sterling's other work, such as "Swarm"
and "Spider Rose"; in SCHISMATRIX we get to see what's really going on
underneath.
"Life moves in clades" is an aphorism that Lindsay repeats often, and
it forms the central idea of the book. "Clade" does not appear in my
Random House Unabridged, but "clado-" is a Graeco-Latin prefix meaning
"branch" or "offshoot", and Sterling's meaning is clear: throughout
SCHISMATRIX various cliques such as the Nephrine Black Medicals, the
Neotenic Cultural Republic, and the Cataclysts appear, become centers
of political and cultural attention, and either fade or become the
bases for new "clades" on newer orbiting worlds.
Partway through the novel some aliens show up. They're known as the
Investors, and some readers will remember them from the short story
"Spider Rose" (1983). Investor culture and artifacts mix with the
factions of humanity in flux; as one might expect, the result is murky
and unclear, and Lindsay's diffident involvement with the aliens
further obscures our view of his character and motivations. I grant
that this is by Sterling's design; Abelard Lindsay is the antithesis of
a Heinleinian or Asimovian protagonist: we do not really understand
him, and we suspect that he does not understand himself.
The novel begins (as does Gibson's NEUROMANCER) with a distinct
Japanese flavor -- an orbiting world that proclaims itself a Zaibatsu
[corporate republic], characters named Ryumin and Kitsune, and a
mysterious financial/sexual cartel called the Geisha Bank -- but by
midbook the flavor has essentially disappeared; perhaps because the
time span involved is longer than a normal human lifetime. The
cyberpunk movement has always had a preoccupation with Japanese tech
culture, and many of the the images from NEUROMANCER, SCHISMATRIX, and
works like BLADERUNNER seem pulled from the pages of contemporary
Japanese comics.
The political and cultural intrigues of SCHISMATRIX reminded me of two
other novels that I greatly enjoyed: Kim Stanley Robinson's recent
ICEHENGE, and TRITON by Samuel R. Delany, which appeared in the late
1970's. Robinson and Delany enthusiasts, as well as followers of the
cyberpunk movement (the core of which is formed by Sterling along with
William Gibson, John Shirley, and perhaps Michael Swanwick) will
appreciate SCHISMATRIX. It is clearly a major SF novel of the 1980's,
and is worth the time spent in exploring its complexities.
Books Received
Books Received lists copies of books sent to OtherRealms for review.
Since review copies are sent out near the time of publication it is a
notice that these books are now (or will soon be) on the shelves of
your bookstore.
Arbor House
Asher, Marty. SHELTER, 1986, 136 pps, $12.95 hardback.
Gibson, William. COUNT ZERO, 1986, 278 pps, $15.95 hardback.
Roberts, Keith. KITEWORLD, 1985, 288 pps, $15.95 hardback. First U.S.
publication of an English work.
Slonczewski, Joan. A DOOR INTO OCEAN, 1986, 403 pps, $17.95 hardback.
Baen Books
Allen, Roger MacBride. ROGUE POWERS, 1986, 401 pps, $3.50. Sequel to THE
TORCH OF HONOR
Henry Holt and Company
Asimov, Isaac. FUTUREDAYS, A NINETEENTH CENTURY VISION OF THE YEAR 2000,
1986, 96 pages (many color plates), $12.95 trade paperback.
Tor Science Fiction
Anthony, Piers. STEPPE, 1986, 252 pps, $3.50.
Bishop, Michael. ANCIENT OF DAYS, 1985, 408 pps, $3.95.
Bova, Ben. PROMETHEANS, 1986, 278 pps, $2.95.
Bova, Ben. VOYAGERS II: THE ALIEN WITHIN, 1986, 344 pps, $15.95 hardback
Dickson, Gordon R. PRO, 1978, 183 pps, $2.95. First Tor printing.
Modesitt, L. E. Jr. THE ECOLOGIC ENVOY, 1986, 287 pps, $2.95.
Tor Fantasy
Baker, Scott. FIREDANCE, 1986, 380 pps, $2.95.
Roberts, John Maddow. CONAN THE VALORIOUS, 1985, 280 pps, $2.95.
First mass market printing.
Tor Horror
Masterson, Graham. DEATH TRANCE, 409 pps, 3.95
Walters, R. R. LADIES IN WAITING, 1986, 411 pps, $3.95.
Williamson, Chet. SOULSTORM, 1986, 307 pps, $3.95.
OtherRealms is Copyright 1986
by Chuq Von Rospach
All rights reserved
One time rights have been acquired from the contributors. All rights
are hereby assigned to the contributors.
Reproduction rights: OtherRealms may be reproduced only for
non-commercial uses. Re-use, reproduction or reprinting of an
individual article in any way on any media, is forbidden without
permission.
source text file
Issue 9, Part 2, October 1986
OtherRealms
A Reviewzine for the Non-Fan
Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life
Issue #9
October, 1986
Part 2
Pico Reviews
ALL THE MYRIAD WAYS by Larry Niven [*****]
Del Rey, $2.25, 1971, 181 pages
Classic Larry Niven. Not only very good hard SF stories, but three
essays on interesting topics (Superman's sex life, time travel, and
teleportation). Overall excellence. A must own book.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu
ANNALS OF THE BLACK COMPANY by Glen Cook [****+]
[Omnibus] The Black Company, Shadows Linger,
The White Rose Doubleday [SFBC], 1984, 1984, 1985
Impressive, realistic, gritty fantasy (if that isn't a contradiction in
terms). The Black Company is the last of the free companies of
Khatovar, and they have fallen on hard times. A bunch of tough
mercenaries in the service of the Lady, an ancient evil recently
returned. Here war is a tough, dirty business. Major characters die,
magic doesn't have all the answers. A good study of the possible forms
of evil, apocalyptic battles, and a satisfying final battle and
aftermath.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu
THE COMING OF THE QUANTUM CATS by Frederik Pohl [***]
296 pages, Bantam Books
What if there were infinite parallel worlds? What if some of them
figured out a way to move among the parallels? What if they showed up
in OUR world with weird weapons and plans to use OUR world as a way to
surprise attack their world? What if yet ANOTHER parallel world showed
up to attack OUR world? This is the confusion that Pohl unravels in
this most engrossing story. Very interesting. A bit of a pat ending,
but worth checking out.
-- Dave Taylor
hplabs!hpldat!taylor
THE COPPER CROWN by Patricia Kennealy [***]
Signet, $3.50
An interesting book, where the Terrans find a space empire started by
pre-Christian Kelts who fled St. Patrick. After getting past the
mechanism that got them there (I won't spoil it), the book is an
enjoyable read about the extension of a classic culture into an SF
setting, and the culture shock of the Terrans on finding them,
especially the Asian captain of the search vessel. The first in a
series (labeled the 'Keltiad'), but completely readable on its own.
-- Bob Halloran
topaz!caip!unirot!halloran
DARK OF THE MOON by P. C. Hodgell [***+]
Atheneum [SFBC], 1985, 370 pages
Sequel to her excellent book "God Stalk". This is ultimately less
satisfying since it doesn't include the most interesting character of
"God Stalk": the city of Tai-tastigon. This goes more into the
background of the characters and the world, and deals with the battle
against 'The Perimal Darkling'. The major problem is structural, the
chapters alternate between the story of Jame (heroine of the last book)
and her twin brother Tori (who is 12 years older). While this
technique has been used to good effect elsewhere, it doesn't really
work here. A worthwhile book, but read "God Stalk" first.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu
THE DREAM YEARS by Lisa Goldstein [***+]
Bantam Spectra, $2.95, 1985, 195 pages
I'm still not quite sure to make of this book. The basic story takes
place among the surrealists of Paris in 1924. But then there is the
elements of the Paris riots of 1968 and Paris of the 21st century.
This is more of a character oriented story than most of SF, and the
prose, characters, and dialogue are all first rate. The material
dealing with surrealism rings true, but I haven't the slightest idea if
it is accurate. This is worth reading, but I really couldn't say what
it's "about".
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu
THE FOREVER MACHINE by Mark Clifton & Frank Riley [***]
(AKA THEY'D RATHER BE RIGHT)
GALAXY, 1954, 159 pages
Winner of the 1955 Hugo award. This remains a readable story of a
supercomputer and its use as an rejuvenation machine. The only trouble
is that to become rejuvenated, you must be willing to give up all
prejudices. And, of course, most people would rather be right and
dead. Cardboard characters (naturally), but not bad for the period.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu
GENE WOLFE'S BOOK OF DAYS by Gene Wolfe [***+]
Doubleday [Hardcover], $9.95, 1981, 182 pages
A short story collection with a theme (each story is connected with a
day of the year). This is a weak Gene Wolfe collection, but still has
several excellent stories. Some favorites are Lincoln's Birthday
(reinstatement of slavery), Valentine's Day (what if computer dating
**REALLY** worked?), and Mother's Day (a pregnant car). Even mediocre
Gene Wolfe is better than many other authors, so this is worth checking
out.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu
THE GREY MANE OF MORNING by Joy Chant [****]
Bantam, $3.50, 1977, 332 pages
A refreshing fantasy story. Instead of young heros battling evil
wizards for the fate of the entire universe; this is a quiet, pastoral
(but by no means dull) tale of a tribe of plainsmen, and how they
learned to war against the villages. There is no earth shattering
battles, but a well told story of a proud people and their way of
life. Recommended.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu
HALF PAST HUMAN by T. J. Bass [***]
Del Rey, $2.75, 1971, 279 pages
Interesting speculation on the far future. Trillions of four toed
near-humans live in computer controlled hives on an earth totally
converted to food production. And a few five toed genetic throwbacks
live on the surface, fighting for survival. The prose is nothing
special, but the plot and characters are adequate.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu
THE HAMMER AND THE HORN by Michael Jan Friedman [*+]
Questar, $2.95, 1985, 297 pages
The story of Vidar (Odin's bastard son), who has been on earth since
Ragnarok, and his reinvolvement with current Asgardian affairs. The
description of what really happened in Norse mythology is kind of
interesting, but doesn't make up for the standard fantasy plot devices. Yawn.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu
HARDWIRED by Walter Jon Williams [**]
Tor Books $15.95 343pp
This is basically a post holocaust shoot 'em up with lots of sex and
drugs and rock 'n roll. The Earth has lost The War with the Orbital
Corporate Blocs and is now being bled white by them. Sarah is a
dirtgirl whose dream is to get enough money to buy a ticket off-world
for herself and her brother. Cowboy is a smuggler who wants to bring
down the Orbitals. They meet, they fall in love, they triumph but then
you know all this by the seventh chapter. There is nothing original
about either the characters or the story. On the other hand, Williams
has written a sufficiently fast paced story that it is possible to
gloss over the cliches. Atmosphere is very important in a story of this
type and Williams has also done a good job of creating a suitable
electric punk rock feel. However, on the balance, this is not one
Williams' better works and one has to have a preference for this type
of story to like this book.
-- Danny Low
hplabs!dlow
HART'S HOPE by Orson Scott Card [****+]
Berkley, $2.75, 1983, 261 pages
What makes this book interesting is its prose style. Virtually every
book written today (at least nearly all SF&F) is written in a modern,
conversational style. "Hart's Hope", however, is written in the old,
allegorical style that brings to mind Arthurian legends and old myths.
The story itself is well suited to this approach, dealing with gods,
princesses, revenge, love and death. Also its refreshing to read a
fantasy novel that isn't part of an N-ology.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu
THE HIDDEN LAND by Pamela Dean [****-]
Ace Fantasy, $2.95, 1986, 202 pages
Continuation of "The Secret Country", this is a well written,
interesting fantasy novel. A group of children are mysteriously
transported to their make-believe land. But things aren't quite as
they imagined them, the people are more complex and the events have a
life of their own. I kept wanting to shout at the characters "What are
you doing? Don't you know that could be dangerous?" The children act
like children, not adults in small bodies. The major trouble is that
their are *LOTS* of loose ends still hanging around. This is just
crying for another book to resolve everything.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu
THE HUMANOIDS by Jack Williamson [****+]
Avon, $2.25, 1949, 259 pages
Forget Steven King, this is **SCARY**. A lone scientist creates (via a
newly discovered natural law) a race of robots (called humanoids)
instructed "To Serve and Obey, And Guard Men from Harm". The problem
is that the humanoids are *TOO* efficient and judge everything from
bicycles to unsupervised sex as potentially harmful. This is a classic
tale of technology gone wrong, close enough to possible that it scares
the daylights out of me. It has been taught at MIT as an example of
where technology can lead. My copy also includes the even better short
story "With Folded Hands".
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu
THE INITIATE by Louise Cooper [**+]
Tor, $2.95, 1985, 278 pages
A perfectly average fantasy plot, better written than most. An
interesting premise that in the war between law and chaos, law won
completely ages ago. Now the protagonist is being manipulated into
helping the return of chaos. Of course, its the first book in an N-ology.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu
THE KRAKEN WAKES by John Wyndham [*****]
240 pages, from Penguin
This is another wonderful Wyndham book. The storyline is that
mysterious asteroids show up in the sky (remember the beginning of "Day
of the Triffids"? *smile*) and crash into the sea. As time passes
strange things happen at sea, including ships mysteriously disappearing
without any warning... the really exceptional thing about the story is
the characterizations.
-- Dave Taylor
hplabs!hpldat!taylor
THE KUNDALINI EQUATION by Steven Barnes [***+]
Tor, $3.50, 1986, 348 pages
Another SF/Martial Arts book by Steven Barnes (the other being
"Streetlethal"). This time a man stumbles upon an ancient killing
discipline that makes Bruce Lee look like a paraplegic. Nice prose,
interesting characters, and nicely written gratuitous sex scenes.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu
LORD OF LIGHT by Roger Zelazny [*****]
Doubleday Science Fiction, 1967, [SFBC]
A Hugo winning novel, would you believe Zelazny tells a Science Fiction
story about the Buddhist Pantheon and gets away with it? A group of
people land on a planet and turn themselves into Gods, literally, with
technology. They rule their offspring with all the typical weaknesses
that the Gods of humans would be expected to show, and do everything
they can to hold back the progress of their minions. On the side of
Good, however, is Mahasamatman, but you can call him Sam. As the
Buddha, the Prophet, this unbeliever puts together the revolution that
will overturn Heaven itself. A fascinating book with insights into a
lesser known philosophy and about humanity itself.
-- chuq von rospach
LYTHANDE by Marion Zimmer Bradley [***-]
DAW, $3.50, 1986, 237 pages
A collection of short stories dealing with the Blue Star wizard of
Thieves World. Lythande was one of my favorite characters from the
first book. So it is really unfortunate that these stories don't fulfil
the promise of the character. While Lythande has several interesting
adventures, and we learn a bit more about her character, there is too
much of Fantasy Plot 217 (hero fights old adversary in unexpected
place) to be really satisfying.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu
THE MISTS OF AVALON - Marion Zimmer Bradley [****+]
This is yet another retelling of the Arthurian legend, though this time
from the point of view of the women in the story. They include
Gwenhwyfar, Igraine, Viviane but the main (and definitely the most
interesting) character is Morgaine - priestess of Avalon, half-sister
to Arthur and mother of his child who will destroy him. While I found
the start of the story somewhat slow, Igraine (Arthurs's mother) not
being a terribly interesting character, it soon became quite
engrossing. The book has a marvelous feeling of a world where the old
magic and ways are being replaced by a new religion (the author's
sympathies lying with the old religion). Being the Arthurian legend
the story ends in tragedy, though not quite the same tragedy as is
usual. It is the best fantasy I have read since 'Thomas Covenant.
Toivo Pedaste
seismo!effigy.oz!toivo
THE MULLER-FOKKER EFFECT by John Sladek [****]
213 pages, from Pocket Books,
This is a very Kurt Vonnegut style story with lots of strange and
irreverent things. Muller Fokker is a technique by which one can
capture the personality of a person on computer tapes... there are some
hilarious comments on religion, government, etc.
-- Dave Taylor
hplabs!hpldat!taylor
ON A PALE HORSE by Piers Anthony []
303 pages, Del Rey
This book was quite good, indeed surprisingly good considering the
dreck Anthony has been foisting on (a willing) public as of late.
Until about half way... then we started seeing the 'superhero' syndrome
rear it's ugly head. But even then it was okay until I got to the
"Authors Note". Okay, so maybe he has something interesting to say...
but Nooooo... The Authors Note (21 pages worth!) ruined the book. Don't
buy it. yech.
-- Dave Taylor
hplabs!hpldat!taylor
PARK: A FANTASTIC STORY by John Gray [****]
107 pages, Carcanet
Good luck finding this one. If you do, though, buy it! It's an
excellent philosophical story of a man who wakes up one morning
hundreds of years in the future. The comments on early 1900s' English
society are most interesting... and make for a good tale too! With an
afterward by Philip Healy, this might be more appropriate for a
Literature or Philosophy class in college.
-- Dave Taylor
hplabs!hpldat!taylor
THE RELUCTANT KING by L. Sprague de Camp [***]
[Omnibus] The Goblin Tower, The Clocks of Iraz, The Unbeheaded King
Doubleday [SFBC], 1968, 1971, 1983, 533 pages
On the whole, an average fantasy about Jorian, an former king trying to
keep out of the clutches of his subjects (you see, every 5 years they
behead their king and appoint a new one). What brings this up to 3
stars is the marvelous stories Jorian tells about the exploits of the
past kings of Kortoli (all of whose names begin with 'F'). The
exploits of Fusinian the Fox, Filoman the Well-Meaning, Forimar the
Esthete, and others are quite amusing (better than the main story in
most places). A readable light fantasy.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu
SILVERTHORN by Raymond E. Feist [****]
Doubleday [SFBC], 1985, 309 pages
Middle book of the Magician trilogy. It suffers from the standard
middle book syndrome: you don't have the thrill of learning about the
setting, and you don't have a satisfying climax. This is why it only
gets four stars instead of five. A smaller scope than the previous
book, this only deals with the quest for a cure for the princess in
enemy territory. Excellent book.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu
THE SPACE MERCHANTS by Frederik Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth [*****]
170 pages, from Penguin
This is a great story! Anything that pokes fun at Madison Avenue and
the games they play to manipulate us, the innocent public, into buying
things is good in MY book! In this vision of the future, the ad
agencies run the world, have armed military encounters with each other
to get new people, and have torture experts to kidnap and find out the
success of the 'other side'. Very funny. Very good. Buy it and read
it if you can!
-- Dave Taylor
hplabs!hpldat!taylor
THE STARMAKER by Olaf Stapleton [****] for imagination
[**-] as a novel
Berkley, $0.50, 1937, 222 pages
A travelogue on the history of intelligent life in the universe, and
its search for spiritual enlightenment. As a work of imagination, this
works very well, detailing all manner of strange and wonderful
creatures and civilizations. However, it has its problems as a novel.
Seeing so many different societies rush by doesn't give time to see any
but the most obvious features of any of them. There aren't really any
characters in the entire novel, just a vast panorama opening before
us. Still, it is an interesting an influential early SF book.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu
STEPPE by Piers Anthony [****]
1.25 U.K. pounds, Granada, 1976, 191 Pages.
If you like anything the Piers Anthony writes and if you can find this
book (I don't think there is a U.S. version), then it is well worth
reading. It is a fun techno/primitive adventure that doesn't fall prey
to any of Anthony's problems. The book reminds me in many ways of
Split Infinity and I expect that Split Infinity grew out of Steppe.
-- David Muir Sharnoff
muir@ucbvax
THE SUMMER TREE by Guy Gavriel Kay [*****]
Arbor House [SFBC], 1984, 311 pages
One of the best fantasies I've read this year. What distinguishes this
from most other excellent fantasies, say "Magician", is that five of
the main characters are from Toronto, and are transported to Fionavar
by Silvercloak the wizard. The contemporary characters give an
accessible point of view, and their personalities are both fully
developed and change through the story. Great setting, great prose,
great characters. Read it.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu
SUNFALL by C. J. Cherryh [**]
DAW, $2.50, 1981, 158 pages
The worst Cherryh book I've read. This is a collection of short
stories about the fate of cities in the far, far future. None of the
stories is terrible, but the entire collecting is unsatisfing. Both
Vance and Wolfe have done better with the same idea.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu
THIEVES' WORLD #9, BLOOD TIES [****]
edited by Robert Lynn Asprin and Lynn Abbey
Ace Fantasy, August 1986, $2.96, 238 pages
The latest collection in the THIEVES' WORLD series. After some
mid-series doldrums, the last few books have snapped back, and this
issue is as good as #1. The denizens of Sanctuary are learning a new
trick -- subtlety -- as they live and die (well, mostly die) and fight
for the survival of their city and themselves. This book injects
something missing in all the previous volumes: Hope. Since the total
despair of Sanctuary was my only real gripe about the series, this is
now on my buy regardless list. It is beginning to look like this
series will go on forever. I, personally, hope it will.
-- chuq von rospach
THE TRANSVECTION MACHINE BY Edward Hoch [*]
176 pages, from Pocket Books,
Perhaps the best review (he says tongue firmly in cheek) is to quote
the review on the back cover; "A beautifully plotted and clued
detective story that just happens to take place in the twentyfirst
century... hanky-panky in high places, sex, threats of torture, escape
attempts and a shoot-out at the end... perfect!" Uh huh...
-- Dave Taylor
hplabs!hpldat!taylor
VISIBLE LIGHT by C. J. Cherryh [****]
DAW, $3.50, 1986, 348 pages
A good short story collection. A good balance of fantasy and SF, old
and new stories. There isn't a bad story in here. Also entertaining
is the meta-story, which forms as the introduction to the individual
tales and as a platform for Cherryh to expound on all manner of ideas
on literature, art, history, and the universe. And a nice cover
picture that's a fairly good likeness of the author.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu
VOYAGER IN NIGHT by C. J. Cherryh [***+]
DAW, $2.95, 1984, 221 pages
Interesting speculation on *ALIEN* aliens and how human beings could
relate. And I absolutely refuse to give away any of the plot, since
finding out what in the world is going on is much of the fun.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu
WAVE WITHOUT A SHORE by C. J. Cherryh [***+]
DAW, $2.50, 1981, 176 pages
Could you build a society that *REALLY* believed in existentialism?
Something doesn't exist unless you believe it exists? The problems
this poses, as well as the struggle between art and politics is the
basis of some interesting speculations.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu
THE WORTHINGTON CHRONICLE by Orson Scott Card [***]
Ace, $2.75, 1983, 264 pages
This is largely based on two previous books: "Hot Sleep" and "Capitol".
These three books deal with the earth empire built on controlled
suspended animation, telepathy, the fall of the empire, and its
aftermath. This book is how the entire history is told to a young boy
in a small village of an obscure planet. As with all Card, it is well
written and the story is nice hard SF.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu
OtherRealms Salutes the 1986 Hugo Winners!
Best Novel
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Best Novella
24 Views of Mount Fuji, by Roger Zelazny
Best Novellette
Paladin of the Lost Hour, by Harlan Ellison
Best Short Story
Fermi and Frost, by Frederik Pohl
Best Non-fiction book
Science Made Stupid, by Tom Weller
Best Dramatic Presentation
Back to the Future
Best Professional Editor
Judy-Lynn del Rey*
Best Professional Artist
Michael Whelan**
Best Semi-Prozine
Locus, Charles Brown, editor
Best Fan Writer
Mike Glyer
Best Fan Artist
joan hanke-woods
Best Fanzine
Lan's Lantern, George Laskowski, editor
John W. Campbell Award
Melissa Scott
* Lester del Rey refused the award on the grounds that if Judy-Lynn had
not died, she would not have won, and that she would not have wanted it
under these circumstances.
** Michael Whelan removed himself from Hugo contention next year
OtherRealms Notes
This issue is, by far, the most difficult one to put together yet.
This issue introduces an entirely new format, thanks to the Macintosh
and MacPublisher II, a desktop publishing program. The people reading
the electronic version can't appreciate it, but with a new font and
entirely redesigned format, I think OtherRealms is significantly more
readable than in the past. It is a big improvement, and the time it
took learning the new software and starting over with the display
decisions is worth it.
Beyond the cosmetic, there are a lot of other changes to this issue.
I've published the first OtherRealms cartoon, which is the first piece
of art to go into the magazine. Again, I'm using advanced technology,
digitizing the art into the Mac and laying it into the issue
electronically. The results are not as impressive here, and if I can't
get the quality up in the next issue or so, I'll go back to traditional
paste-up. We'll see if it is the technology or the operator once I get
some time to really work on it. Thanks to Alexis Gilliland for
suggesting that OtherRealms use art and acting as initial guinea pig.
Jim Brunet is the author of the first piece of OtherRealms fiction,
"Insufficient Transmission" and a good piece it is. Jim is a long time
contributor to the zine, and this story is a good example of the
quality of fiction I'm striving for.
One feature that is taking a rest this issue is the lettercol.
Preliminary results of the Readers Survey last issue show that the
space I was giving it was way out of proportion to the interest. Since
I'm tight for space this issue anyway, I'm going to take some time to
rethink how I want to handle letters. I feel strongly that a lettercol
is important to help everyone get their views heard, but I need to be
more selective in what and how much gets printed. I do read
everything, and the letters I get affect the future directions of
OtherRealms, so don't stop writing!
Another thing I've decided to do is consolidate is my writing. Looking
back on previous issues, my writing was scattered all over the place.
I'm consolidating everything into a single review column where I can
tie things together a little better, do a little more commentary and
practice my A. J. Budrys impersonation. I feel more comfortable in a
column format and I think it will help me keep from dominating an issue
by spraying lots of little things all over the place. "Words of
Wizdum" premieres this issue.
"Books Received" is the last new feature. OtherRealms is getting a lot
of support from many publishers in the form of publication schedules,
press releases, and review copies. I'm going to start dedicating some
space to getting this information out to you, and "Books Received" is
the first part of this. It lists all the review copies that
OtherRealms has gotten since the last issue. This serves two
purposes. First, it will let you know to expect a book at the store
even if it doesn't get reviewed, and it also lets you know which books
that DO get reviewed came directly from the publishers. Getting a
review copy doesn't guarantee a good review; it doesn't even guarantee
a review, for that matter, but this is one way I can help you keep us
honest by giving you a list of the freebies. I definitely give review
copies priority on my reading list, but that is because these are the
new books and the books that should be reviewed. In future issues, I'm
going to start printing the lists of upcoming books as I get the
information. There are a lot of good books coming out between now and
Christmas, and I hope to start telling you about them next month.
The flow of review copies has gotten to the point where I can't even
try to read all of them anymore, much as I'd like to. This gives you
the opportunity to get "paid" for writing for OtherRealms. I want to
set up a network of people that I can send books to and get a review
from in a timely manner. In return, you get to keep the book. I'm
looking for both a Pico Review and about a 500 word review on each book
I send out, within 30 days after you get the book. I'll use one or the
other depending on interest and space. If you're willing to make room
in your reading list on short notice and want to write reviews, drop me
a line and tell me your interests. (If you're in the Bay Area, so much
the better, as I can save postage on the mailing!) Please don't sign up
if you can't read the book quickly, that isn't fair to me, the readers
of the magazine, or the publishers who sent us the book.
OtherRealms is Copyright 1986
by Chuq Von Rospach
All rights reserved
One time rights have been acquired from the contributors. All rights
are hereby assigned to the contributors.
Reproduction rights: OtherRealms may be reproduced only for
non-commercial uses. Re-use, reproduction or reprinting of an
individual article in any way on any media, is forbidden without
permission.
source text file
Issue 9, Part 3, October 1986
OtherRealms
A Reviewzine for the Non-Fan
Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life
Issue #9
October, 1986
Part 3
Words of Wizdom
Book Reviews by Chuq Von Rospach
Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach
It isn't often that you run across a true gem. It is quite rare when
that gem is shaped by a first-time author. RATHA'S CREATURE, by Clare
Bell [Atheneum/Argo books, 1983, $12.95 hardback] is such a book. The
real pity is that this book was published by a house not known for its
fiction, and published an a juvenile. It is definitely not juvenile,
but a powerful adult Fantasy set in prehistoric times.
Ratha is a precursor of the Saber-tooth tiger in a story set some 25
million years ago. She and her clan are intelligent cats, with
language and learning and a structured society. They are also herders,
keeping their meat animals and guarding them from the Un-Named,
clanless cats without the spark of thought.
We meet Ratha as she learns the art of herding. We follow her
development until disaster strikes -- lightning sets their forest
afire. In the aftermath, Ratha discovers that she can control and
manipulate fire. For this, she is kicked out of the clan. During
this, she loses her fire and leaves clan territory an exile. She picks
up with Bonechewer, another exile from the clan, who teaches her how to
survive in the wilderness. She unwillingly participates in the winter
raids that decimate her ex-clan, but finally returns to them, only to
be rebuffed again. Another lightning strike returns the power of fire
to her, and she challenges, and bests, the clan leader with it.
Finally, the clan uses the power of fire to turn the tide against the
Un-Named and win the critical battle against them to protect their flock.
This is a very powerful book. Obviously, someone at Atheneum was
impressed enough to publish something that didn't really fit into their
line very well. Unfortunately, this means that it hasn't been pushed
towards the readers that could most appreciate it, and it is not well
known and hard to find. Both are crying shames. This book could have
been an award winner if it had been given some publicity. You will
probably need to special order this book, but you won't be
disappointed. Do it. Bell has succeeded at something many have tried
and failed with in the genre -- a solid first person account from a
truly alien viewpoint; that of an intelligent cat.
This is a stunning gem, hidden in the rough at the edge of the road. I
hope this book makes it to paperback soon, with a publisher willing to
give it a push. It would have been a serious award candidate, if we had
only known about it.
There is a new Amber book out, and it is simply great. BLOOD OF AMBER,
the latest by Roger Zelazny [Arbor House hardback, September 1986,
$14.95]. I panned TRUMPS OF DOOM, mainly because Zelazny deliberately
withheld known information from the reader. BLOOD is good enough,
though, to make up for that and they both get a recommendation now.
BLOOD takes up where DOOM left off, with Merlin stuck in a cave of blue
crystal. He, of course, escapes, but not before a rather long-winded
soliloquy that summarizes the plot to date. Once we get past that,
however, the plot starts moving. For every question Zelazny answers in
this volume, he creates dozens more to draw you into the final volume.
The stopping (the book doesn't end, it just waits for the final third
of the trilogy) is bizarre and unsuspected enough to make the blue cave
seem like a Sunday outing. Very little is resolved, there is no real
crisis, but the book builds to what promises to be a real blockbuster
ending of the trilogy with an energy I haven't seen in Amber since SIGN OF
THE UNICORN.
When an author gets paid a lot of money to write a sequel beyond the
logical end of the story, I find that the quality of the story
suffers. DOOM was disappointing enough to make me believe that the new
Amber trilogy would follow the paths of such books as RINGWORLD
ENGINEERS, but BLOOD OF AMBER is proof that Zelazny has found the
inspiration to carry Amber forward. I enjoyed the trip thoroughly, and
I can't wait for the final volume. Highly recommended. [****]
My find of the month is another Arbor House book, SHELTER by Marty
Asher [Arbor House Hardback, 1986, $12.95]. This book has everything
going against it. The book is small, 136 pages. Each page is only
about half filled with text, usually only a paragraph or two. Marty
Asher is Director of the Quality Paperback Book Club. The blurbs
mention Brautigan and Vonnegut, definite warning signs of impending
mediocrity. When you first see this book you'll think that somebody
owed a favor, and that it has to be rotten.
You'd be wrong, too. Frankly, I'd never have looked at this book if
Arbor House hadn't sent it to me, and I'm very glad they did. The book
is as good as the best of Vonnegut. Asher has a strong sense of
language and writing, and uses it with a strong sense of restraint.
Be aware that this is NOT SF or Fantasy, really. It is much closer to
experimental fiction. This is primarily a story of the idealism of the
1960's running head on into the 1980's, as Billy, professional bumper
sticker writer, tries to come to grips with the upcoming Armageddon.
This book really isn't a novel, but a charming character study and
exposition on our society. If you like Vonnegut or Ellison, you'll
love Asher. Definitely not a book for everyone, but highly
recommended. [*****]
KITEWORLD by Keith Roberts (Arbor House hardback, 1986, $15,95) is a
Fantasy of a different flavor. Roberts is a British author, and this
is the first U.S. publication of a 1985 British book. The book is
written as a mainstream novel written in the world that Roberts
creates. The upshot of this is that a lot of material is taken for
granted, and few of the things that are normally explained away in a
Fantasy are mentioned except peripherally.
Roberts builds a full and fascinating society where the kite plays a
central role in life. It is a religious icon, man sized kites are used
to patrol the borders of civilization as protection from the Demons
beyond, and houses fly kites for safety from unnatural forces.
Very little of this is explained. You don't know where the kites came
from, what the Demons are (except for sideways glances), and the only
view you get of the society is that you would get from being in the
society. In lesser hands, trying to write a story like this would
collapse in upon itself. Roberts carries it off almost flawlessly, and
even though it is a bit confusing at first, once you settle into the
story you'll enjoy it. I found myself wondering when he was going to
stop telling the story to explain what was going on -- once I figured
out he wasn't planning to, everything fell in place. This book
requires an active reader. It doesn't explain anything and you'll have
to figure it out for yourself. Some people won't like this book, but I
found it refreshing. [****]
WIZENBEAK (Bluejay Books, 1986, $8.95 trade paperback) is the latest
from artist/author Alexis Gilliland. Slightly dotty wizards seem to be
in these days and Wizenbeak, a water wizard, well qualifies. He is
interested in settling the deserts by finding underground water and
digging wells. Toss in an aged, dying King, a sorcerous (but not evil)
Queen, two chafing Princes, a step-prince, and a slew of troll-bats
(whatever they are) and you're in for a good read. It starts out
funnier than it ends, as though Gilliland wanted to write a funny
Fantasy that got away from him, but that didn't bother me. Solid
Fantasy, worth reading. [***]
AFTER MAN: A ZOOLOGY OF THE FUTURE (Granada Publishing, 1981, oversize
paperback) showed up on the remainder table. Written by Dougal Dixon,
this is a look life will look on earth 50 million after man has left
the world. You meet a wide variety of animals, the Rabbuck family
(deer sized herbivores based on Rabbits), the Chirrit (a tree dweller
somewhere between a chipmunk and a ferret) and the wooly Gigantalope
(something that looks like a Bison crossbred with an Antelope). What
makes this book interesting is the thought that went into it. Dixon
has looked at what animals are likely to survive and how they will
adapt to changing ecological niches. There are a lot of illustrations
of the various animals, and they are all well done. You won't agree
with all of his choices, but I don't think we'll be around to find out
who is right. This could be a useful tool for people who want ideas on
how evolution works. [***+]
TAKEOFF [Starblaze/Donning, trade paper, $7.95] is a 1986 re-release of
a 1979 book. It is a collection of pastiches, parodies, and homages of
various Famous Works by Randall Garrett. Garrett sharpens his pencil
and his wit to write a series of satirical stories set in the Universes
of famous authors, attempting to write the same way the author does.
This he does, with great success. The worst of the pastiches is simply
wonderful, the best, such as "Backstage Lensman" and "On the Martian
Problem" (E.E. "Doc" Smith and E. R. Burroughs, respectively) are in
many ways better than the original. The latter part of the book are a
series of "Reviews in Verse" where Garrett reviews famous books in
rhyme. They are less successful, but don't detract from the book at
all. This book should be a must read, if you have a sense of humor at
all. [****]
Insufficient Transmission
Fiction by Jim Brunet
jimb@ism780c.UUCP
Copyright 1986 by Jim Brunet
At Schrodinger Station, drifting in a lonely orbit a full tenth of a
light-year out from Earth, fourteen men and women were hunched over
consoles or laboratory equipment, conducting research on causality,
temporal gradients, and the properties of space beyond the
gravitational singularity of Sol. Three others were off-duty, making
love in one of the recreational lounges. Roger Z. Briarton, the
station's eighteenth and final inhabitant, peered cautiously into the
communications room and then quickly stepped inside. Working swiftly
yet carefully, he removed the cover to the tachyon resonator's input
module. Roger looked over his shoulder and then reached inside his
overalls and withdrew the storage chip containing the document he had
created in the utmost secrecy. Roger pressed a button and the
contents of the chip were dumped into memory, joining the queue of
reports and other documents bound for Earth.
He checked his watch when he had finished and then crossed his arms as
he waited, watching the machinery. Two minutes later, the resonator
started humming, followed after thirty seconds by a soft rumble. There
came a second, shorter, hum and then silence.
Roger smiled. All the documents, including his secret, were now
inbound for Earth. Whistling a soft and springy tune, Roger Briarton
left the Com Room and sauntered down the corridor in the direction of
the Rec Lounges. Maybe I can get someone interested in a good game of
Monopoly, he thought.
"Oh, Loo-TEN-ant! Ansible's ringing!" Lieutenant Brady Entwhistle,
communications officer of the Niven Colony on Titan, sighed and put
down the tech manual he had been reading. Ansible indeed! Brady was
fighting a hopeless battle to maintain proper technical designations
for all equipment. Tachyon resonator, for instance, instead of
ansible.
Brady swiveled himself out of his chair and walked from the duty office
into the Com Room. Outside, beyond the stellarium window, Saturn
filled half the sky. It's the damn planet's fault, thought Brady as he
flicked on the monitor and began to scan the incoming communications.
Even the most straight-laced service officers developed a poetic
temperament as they were slowly seduced by the ringed world.
That train of thought evaporated as Brady began to flash through the
documents. From Schrodinger Station, most were due to be
re-transmitted to Earth. He dumped out to local memory and printed
hardcopy of a report addressed to the Deep Space Psychological
Institute (Titan) and a letter addressed to the Titan field office of
the Interplanetary Revenue Service, appealing the IRS decision deeming
living quarters on Schrodinger Station as a "...taxable benefit,
supplied in lieu of salary for alternate arrangements." The rest....
Brady's eyes widened as he saw the address of the last document in the
queue: Com Duty Officer, Titan. Brady shook his head and press the
hardcopy button. He didn't know anyone in Deep Space.
The first sheet was a cover letter. Ten minutes minutes later, Brady
exhaled softly as the inbound laser facsimile transmission toward Ceres
was completed. Brady had complied with the requests of the cover
letter, but unusual as they were, he was unhappy. It was against all
regulations, it really was. Mis-appropriation of government
communications channels for unofficial business. Brady shook his head.
Better not to think about it. Instead, he stuck his tech manual back on
the gray metal bookshelf and signed out of the duty office. Maybe that
craft class on ice sculpture was still open.
K.T. Dooley hunched over his drink and glumly watched the desultory
social interactions among the clientele of the Gay Caballero. K.T.
wasn't gay or bi -- which marked him as something of an oddity in the
asteroid belt, given the scarcity of women -- so the social maneuvers
of the other patrons were of only academic interest to him. The drinks,
however, were the cheapest on Ceres, and Gus, the bartender, had even
been known to be generous on occasion to a down and out single-ship
prospector.
K.T. checked his watch and then swirled his drink moodily, trying to
stretch out the time before he would order one more, depleting his
finances by another half credit. Two more hours until his ship was
refueled, two more fucking hours until he spaced again. He would have
to hit this time, even a modest strike. Hit or go down the hole.
This last time out he had come up hard-vacuum empty, without even a
lousy kilogram of usable ore. K.T. swirled his glass again and then
drained it, setting it down on the table with a clunk. Things couldn't
get any worse.
He started to raise his hand to order when a movement at the door
caught his eyes and he saw the silver-overalled figure of M'lumba
Nsanzi striding purposefully toward him. "Oh, shit," said K.T., burying
his face in his hands. Things had just gotten worse.
"Hey, Kay-Tee, old man. Just who I was looking for."
K.T. spread his fingers and peered out, hoping desperately to find that
he was the victim of an illusion. Instead, he saw black, bald-headed
M'lumba grinning as he pulled up a chair. K.T. groaned as if his
eternal soul had just been consigned to the flames. All Government
Service officers were bad news, and this one-- this one was with the
belt's Provost Department, worse yet -- and this particular one NEVER
smiled unless the news was going to be excruciatingly bad.
K.T. lowered his hands from his face and forced a smile. "What's the
matter, M'lumba? Run out of government clerks to bugger and figure
you'd try the private sector?"
M'lumba's smile only broadened as he shook his head. "You said that as
a joke, thinking it funny, no? No matter. No, friend Dooley, I came
seeking you for a different, but less--" The provost officer flicked
his eyes over Dooley's scrawny frame and ragged dress a moment,
"--unappetizing favor."
"Favor?" K.T.'s voice fairly squeaked. "What are you talking about?
I don't do favors for any government snooper scumbag--" His voice
broke off as M'lumba's smile vanished and the officer pressed his hands
together, slowly tapping his fingertips against each other.
"It's only the delivery of a package," said the officer, quietly,
reaching inside his overalls and placing a flat, foil-wrapped package
on the table between them. K.T. breathed easier for a moment. Perhaps
a small favor wouldn't be such a bad idea. You never knew when it
might be nice to have someone in the provost's office who owed you one
and might be persuaded to overlook a minor indiscretion....
"That's right," repeated the officer, "just one small package. An
inbound facsimile mail parcel from Deep Space, to be delivered to an
inbound ship at Marsport."
"Marsport!" bellowed K.T. "Marsport! Are you crazy? Do you know what
kind of orbit I'd have to burn to get to Marsport? And what sort of
chance I'd have of running across any decent ore on the way?"
"As a matter of fact, I do. Nobody, ah, more reliable is in port and
heading that way. So I'm afraid you will have to do."
"The hell I will. There ain't no way I'm going to Marsport, so you can
just kick in your jets and roll right now."
"Oh, but I think you will," said M'lumba softly. "Oh, yes, indeed, I
think you will. Because it would be rather more unpleasant for you if
you were to be officially detained in my office to discuss the little
matter of changing the frequency of a Survey Service navigation buoy
and then nudging it into a different orbit for your own personal use."
K.T. blanched. That had been six months ago and he had been so careful
to avoid detection. Damn, he thought, I was sure I was radar masked.
If the provost's department had hard evidence and could make it
stick.... K.T. stared and M'lumba and tried to fight back the panic.
"You're just prejudiced at me because I'm an independent," he whined.
M'lumba stood up and grabbed K.T.'s tunic at the throat, pulling him
half out of his chair. "Wrong," he snarled. "I'm prejudiced against
you because you're stupid." He threw K.T. back down in his chair. "I
figure you might just barely be smart enough to get this packet to
Marsport and get it on an inbound ship. It's either that, or I'll nail
your ass. If not now, then the next time. Now, is it a deal?"
K.T.'s head bobbed up and down. Whatever M'lumba had on him might not
hold up before a magistrate, but then why take chances. The provost
officer scowled at him and then spun on his heel and left.
K.T. exhaled deeply and slumped back in his chair. Marsport. Christ.
How was he going to stay in business? He shut his eyes and moaned and
then opened them as a glass clunked on the table. "Here you go, big
guy. Anyone who gets harlanned like that, get's one on the house from
me."
K.T. looked up bleakly at Gus's compassionate face. Gus was okay, even
if he did wear a dress. "Thanks, Gus," he said, taking the glass in
hand. "And I'll pay you for another one, right away." He spent the
next two hours drinking and staring at the address label on the
package.
Brin Garrett stared curiously through the armored windows of the taxi
as it made its way through the congestion on Lexington Avenue. It was
his first visit to New York, for he was a west coast boy and normally
took leave in L.A. or San Francisco on the earthbound side of the
*Clarion*'s run.
Though it was near noon, the sun cast a diffuse wan light through the
haze. On a clear day, you can see half a block, or so the song ran.
He shook his head. And they complain about L.A. He watched approvingly
as an elderly, white haired lady dispatched three would-be purse
snatchers with a couple of well-aimed electrostatic jolts from the
stunner concealed in her umbrella. Technology being used for the
improvement of social conditions, he thought. That's the way it should
be.
Brin momentarily checked the address on the foil package on his lap and
then compared it to the numbers on the buildings that he was passing
by. The business of the package was the reason for his presence in New
York, and a curious one it was.
He had been having lunch at the Nip-and-Tuck at Marsport when a crazy
single-ship pilot had burst into the lounge, buying drinks for everyone
in the house, a grand if economical gesture as the house was
three-quarters empty. It seemed as if the pilot had made a strike on a
hefty chunk of high-grade iridium ore while on transit between Ceres
and Mars, chancing upon a bulky rock in a lonely orbit.
Brin was only to happy to enjoy the hospitality of another, but after
the second vodka and tonic, the time came to pay, as the belter pilot
staggered over to Brin's booth, insistent upon striking up a
conversation. Brin had inwardly shrugged; there was, after all, no
such thing as a free drink.
The fellow was ge-snockered to the gills and had rambled on about some
"perverted prick of a provost officer" and the need to deliver a
package to an inbound ship or his ass would be occupied by a navigation
buoy. Who's ass, Brin wasn't sure, as the prospector's slurry speech
left his pronoun antecedents in doubt, but the pilot had pulled out a
foil wrapped package with an Earthbound address on the outside.
Brin had accepted it -- it was the kind of simple favor that crewmen
often did -- mainly in hopes of the pilot going away quickly, but the
man had been so grateful that he had insisted on buying Brin another
drink and staying until he finished it.
The cab pulled over to the side of the street and the robot-driver
beeped through a speaker set in the grill dividing the front seat from
the passenger compartment and announced "Your destination, sir. Please
insert your credit chip in the slot provided." Brin did so and moments
later the driver released the door locks.
Brin re-pocketed his credit chip and exited. Little did he realize that
the robot-driver had debited twenty percent extra from his chip,
proving that after three centuries, New York cab drivers still held the
upper hand and the so-called laws governing robotic behavior toward
humans were as theoretical as ever. Brin again checked the address
label on the package against the number of the building in front of him
and then walked inside to look for the designated office.
The Editor finished reading the manuscript and then contemplated the
mess in the far corner of his office -- six feet away -- for a moment
before buzzing the intercom for his assistant. He was known simply as
The Editor to almost everyone (except his wife, who called him The
Husband), simply because he had held his present job as editor of one
of the world's most prestigious science fiction magazines for well over
a century. Rejuvenation treatments were wonderful.
Someone had once asked him about getting bored after so many decades in
the same job, and he had replied, "Bored? Bored, when every day the
future is unfolded before me as I read dozens of brilliantly written
stories based on solid scientific extrapolation?" The response had had
two effects. First, it had confirmed a general suspicion that the
rejuve treatments did nothing to give one a more mature perspective on
the world. Secondly, no one ever asked him the question again.
The Editor buzzed for his assistant again, and this time she looked up
from her desk in the far corner of the office -- six feet away -- that
they shared. "Yeah, boss?"
The Editor sighed. His assistant really was very good, but he wished
that she would indulge him by using the intercom, so that at least he
could pretend that he had a large spacious office of his own. "It's
about this story, 'The Hyperspace Bordello and Other Conundrums,' by
this guy Roger Briarton."
The assistant editor nodded her head. (She was not known as The
Assistant Editor, she was called Ellen, which is most peculiar, because
her name was Shelley.) "Uh, uh. I remember it. It was one of three
out of this week's slush pile that I thought might be passable."
The Editor nodded. "Almost, but not quite. Still, it's promising
enough that I'd like to ask for a re-write. The only thing is, the
return address on the manuscript is a general credit number. Is there
an SASE?"
The assistant editor grimaced and shook her head. "Nope. It was
delivered in a foil space-pac by an off-duty Ansonline officer -- not
the author. No self-addressed return envelope. The general credit
number belongs to an unlisted account at a Zurich bank, I already
checked."
The Editor riffled the pages and skimmed a few lines here and there.
No, it wasn't quite good enough. And no way to even send an
encouraging rejection note. The assistant editor was already back to
work, so The Editor shrugged and tossed the manuscript into the gray,
round waste can. Why couldn't writers take the trouble to make a
proper submission?
Have You Joined the Conspiracy?
Have you joined the 1987 Worldcon yet? A supporting membership gives
you the right to nominate and vote for the Hugo, SF's most prominent
award. Many people complain that the Hugo is a popularity contest.
Complain all you want about the award, but the publishing industry and
the buying public watch the Hugos and reward them with sales. If you
aren't voting for the Hugo, your voice isn't heard and you have no
right to complain. Joining isn't expensive, and a few votes can make
a difference in the outcome. Supporting membership is only $15 It
gives you a say in the outcome of the awards. There is no reason not
to get involved except laziness. To get a membership in the Worldcon,
send your money to: Conspiracy 87, C/O Bill and Mary Burns, 23
Kensington Court, Hempstead NY 11550. Do it today, and make your voice
heard.
End Papers
Editorial Comments
by
Chuq Von Rospach
Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach
There is a disturbing trend in publishing these days. Publishing
houses are getting very fast and loose with the word "original."
LYTHANDE by Marion Zimmer Bradley is a "Daw Original." It contains
stories from THIEVES' WORLD #1, from the anthology GREYHAVEN, from
Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine.
Baen announces THE COLLECTED STORIES OF TEMPUS by Janet Morris, an
original anthology. Tempus is another character from Thieves' World.
My question on both of these is "What is original?" True, they've
never been published together before. The art is original. The ISBN is
original. The stories? Well, they don't matter.
There has always been controversy as to whether an anthology of
material published in magazines can be considered original. Magazine
material is seen by a very small percentage of the SF readers. First
book publication gives a work life with a new and much larger audience.
Original means new, or at least not published in book form. Anything
less is an attempt to mislead the buyer, and I feel it is an unethical
and unacceptable marketing ploy. In the future, my reviews will
reflect such attempts, and will have a more negative rating than I
might otherwise give. If you find such deceptive marketing practices,
let me know. You should also let the publishers the authors know by
writing letters to them or voting with your pocketbooks. This practice
is detrimental to publishing in the long term, because it removes any
value to the word original and devalues the original material.
*******
This is the first year the Hugo for Best Professional Editor went to a
book publisher, the late Judy-Lynn del Rey. Her husband, Lester, also
properly turned down the award because, in his words, she wouldn't have
gotten it if she hadn't died.
He's right and its a shame. Judy-Lynn deserved the award years ago,
and she is just one of a number of highly talented book editors who
have been ignored over the years because their work is behind the
scenes. The Ballantines and the Wollheims all deserve recognition for
what they've done for the genre and the publishing industry. Beth
Meacham seems to be doing amazing things with the Tor lists, and the
people at Ace and Bantam are publishing a lot consistently good books.
Part of the problem is simply figuring out who does what behind the
scenes. It is becoming a standard procedure to credit cover artists.
Will anyone seriously question whether an editor is any less
important? Let's get the editor name on the credit page with everyone
else, and start giving them some of the recognition (and appropriate
catcalls) they deserve.
Masthead
OtherRealms is Copyright 1986
by Chuq Von Rospach
All rights reserved
One time rights have been acquired from the contributors. All rights
are hereby assigned to the contributors.
Reproduction rights: OtherRealms may be reproduced only for
non-commercial uses. Re-use, reproduction or reprinting of an
individual article in any way on any media, is forbidden without
permission.
OtherRealms is published monthly, except for December, by:
Chuq Von Rospach
160 Pasito Terrace #712
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
UUCP: sun!chuq
ARPA: chuq@sun.COM
CompuServe: 73317,635
Delphi: CHUQ
Publishers: Review Copies should be sent to this address for consideration.
Submission Policy
Material about Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror books is solicited
for OtherRealms. The main focus is reviews of newer, lesser known
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Pico reviews are welcome on any book. Use the format used in this
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OtherRealms accepts fiction up to 10,000 words. Fiction must be
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Book Ratings in OtherRealms
All books are rated with the following guidelines. Most books should
have a three star rating, anything three or above is recommended. Two
stars is a qualified recommendation. Stars may be modified with a + or
a - to indicate a half star in either direction. [***-] is considered
slightly better than [**+].
[*****] Classic, Hugo quality
[****] Hugo Nominee quality
[***] Average book, recommended
[**] Somewhat flawed, has its moments
[*] Not recommended
[] Avoid at all costs
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source text file
Issue 10 — November 1986
Issue 10, Part 1, November 1986
OtherRealms
A Reviewzine for the Non-Fan
Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life
Issue #10
November, 1986
Part 1
Why Judge a Book by its Cover? The Art of Paperbacks
Jim Vadeboncoer, Jr.
ABORIGINAL SF MAGAZINE #1
Fred Bals
What I Did on My Summer Vacation - or - WorldCon 1986
Jeff Copeland
IT
Dan'l Danehy-Oakes
Dimensions of Science Fiction
R. E. Webber
Part 2
Pico Reviews
Books Received
OtherRealms Notes
Words of Wizdom
Reviews by Chuq Von Rospach
Part 3
The Ozzie and Harriet
Fiction by Fred Bals
Why Judge a Book by its Cover?
The Art of Paperbacks
Jim Vadeboncoer, Jr.
Copyright 1986 by Jim Vadeboncoer, Jr.
I collect the work of artists who display their art on the covers of
paperback books. It's not a very glamorous gallery. Few bookstores
display all of their paperbacks cover out; fewer still organize their
books by cover artist. Many fine paintings end up facing their own
back cover or get lost in a sea of color; looking, from a distance, no
different than the next one. It is into this haphazard display that a
new artist sends his work, and from which the collector must seek it out.
Why should anyone spend time (or money) finding books with 'pretty'
covers? That's easy. I like pretty pictures (or good art, to be more
sophisticated) and paperback covers are one source of supply. I also
like illustrated books, illustrated paperbacks, comic books, calendars,
portfolios, magazines -- anything that has pretty pictures. I like
them and I collect them. Paperbacks are just another medium as far as
the artists are concerned, so why should I make distinctions where they
do not?
[Ok, time out here! I do read! I read a lot. Mostly I read books. I
prefer good writing to good stories, will settle for either in a pinch,
but generally keep searching for the combination of both. It's often a
long, empty task. It's a lot easier to find good art.]
As in any hobby or collecting effort, there is a great deal of personal
taste involved in deciding what to collect. I won't apologize for mine
if you don't apologize for yours. I like what I collect and generally
collect what I like. If our tastes differ, I hope we can still discuss
the concept without the specifics getting in the way. Should I neglect
to mention one of your favorites, please refer back to this paragraph.
Many fine fantasy artists today are graduates of the paperback cover
school. Frank Frazetta, Jeff Jones and George Barr come to mind as
having done numerous covers in the past but who now seem to have left
the field to the horde of new talent that proliferates the SF and
Fantasy racks of the book stores.
Jim Gurney is such a newcomer (30 covers in three years), and one to
watch. He's recently done covers for the latest reprints of the Jane
Gaskell ATLAN series (following in the footsteps of both Frazetta and
Jones), as well as such dramatic covers as ZANZIBAR CAT (Russ) and
PHAID THE GAMBLER (Farren). You can also find his work in the National
Geographic Magazine where he illustrates articles such as the recent
re-creation of the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts.
Some of the other new talent I've been following include Richard Berry
(GODMAKERS -- Herbert), Richard Bober (MUSTAPHA AND HIS WISE DOG,
SPELLS OF MORTAL WEAVIN -- Freisner), Thomas Canty (COPPER CROWN,
Kennealy), Paul Chadwick (FORWARD - Dickson), Alan Gutierrez
(SATURNALIA -- Callin), Phil Hale (BORDERLAND -- Windling), Alan Lee
(BROKEDOWN PALACE -- Brust), John Pound (The WITCHWORLD Series --
Norton) and Gary Ruddell (THIEVES' WORLD reissues -- Asprin). None of
them was painting covers in the Seventies, and several have only
appeared this year. It's an exciting time for cover watchers.
Actually, it's always been fun for the cover collector. At some point
the first Kelly Freas cover hit the stands (circa 1955). At that time
you could also find cover art by Everett Raymond Kinstler and Norman
Saunders, Rudolf Belarski and Earle Bergey, not to mention the numerous
cover artists for the pulps that were also competing with the
paperbacks of the day. Virgil Finlay, Ed Emsh and Valigursky, Freas
(here, too) and numerous others were available to the cover collector
of the Fifties.
In the Sixties it was another apparent Golden Age. Frazetta did his
best work in this decade. Jeff Jones, Roy G. Krenkel, Virgil Finlay,
Robert Foster, Leo and Diane Dillon, Kelly Freas (still), James Bama,
Gray Morrow, Ed Emsh (again), and dozens of others were plying their
trade for the collectors of that decade.
The early Seventies saw the beginning of the European invasion that had
begun in Jim Warren's CREEPY and EERIE comic magazines. Two of
Warren's top cover artists, both from Spain, found their way to Dell
books and began careers that are still going strong today. San Julian
and Enric (or Enrich) were the first in a wave that was to contain
Jordi Penalva, Segrelles, and Maroto. San Julian did several of the
trade paperback CONAN covers (Ace -- Howard) while Enric is probably
best known for his DORSAI covers (Ace -- Dickson).
Also in the 1970 to 1975 period Jim Steranko and George Barr
proliferated. Frazetta and Jones were still going strong, as were
James Bama (DOC SAVAGE) and Kelly Freas (Laser Books).
The last decade has introduced most of the artists I've listed (and
dozens of others sacrificed to space). The quality of paperback cover
art is at a stage where even the lesser talents are doing good work.
There isn't much in the way of junk on the stands, although several
very slick stylists are covering up a lack of talent and imagination
with superficial rendering techniques. Still, the overall
professionalism of the genre has seldom been higher, nor has the
variety of styles being employed.
There are as many genres or stylistic 'schools' of cover art as there
are of art in general.
o There's realism -- most SF artists fall into this category -- where
people look like people. Whelan, Maitz, Corben, San Julian, Alexander,
Gutenberg, Freas, De Fate, Hildebrandt: all fall within this category
to some extent.
o A sub-category is hyper-realism where Boris and Rowena hold sway. I
do enjoy Boris, but more for his backgrounds and creatures than for his
self-portraits and flesh tones. It's there that he does his best
work. In the same school, Rowena leaves me cold.
o The romantic school often encompasses many aspects of the realists.
In fact, certain artists move easily between the genres, like Don
Maitz. The distinguishing aspect of the Romantic artist is the
stylization of the scene; the intent to capture mood more than precise
form and shape. Leo and Diane Dillon are the definitive romantics,
while the most stylized are Robert Gould and Thomas Canty, both of whom
draw heavily on the English Romanticists of the last century; most
obviously Sir Edward Burne Jones and Dante Gabriel Rosetti. Kinuko Y.
Craft is another multi-styled Romantic who tends towards the Oriental
for her inspiration.
o The surrealists of the cover artists are few. One would think that SF
covers would be the ideal outlet for covers ala Dali -- with
transdimensional space and time warping the images into unfamiliar
shapes. Somehow we don't seem to respond well to such scenes, although
a few artists have managed to make it palatable to us. I classify John
Berkey here. Some may argue that he belongs to the realist school. I
disagree. Another artist, who hasn't done much work lately, but whom I
have always thought an under-rated surrealist, is Robert Foster. He
did the covers for Pangborn's DAVY (Ballantine's 1964 edition) and
Moorcock's BEHOLD THE MAN (Avon, 1970).
o The heroic fantasy school have all studied under Frazetta and, while I
find it difficult to classify Frazetta himself, he does provide a
category for his followers. Ken Kelly heads the list and actually did
take lessons from the master. The early works of Jeff Jones, Boris,
and San Julian were all of this school, but all have graduated to more
personal styles.
o The catchall category of stylist is my cop-out. I don't really know
where to place such artists as Richard Courtney (Varley's TITAN series)
Gino D' Achille (the GOR series), Howard Chaykin (Saberhagen's SWORDS
trilogy), Steve Hickman (Stasheff's WARLOCK series), and dozens of
others I enjoy because of their distinctive and personal styles.
Generally, I tend towards realism and romanticism in the art I like and
collect. I classify Michael Whelan as tops in both as he manages to
blend the two into a coherent whole. Whelan's easy to collect as he's
done so much (over 120 covers) and many of the books for which he's
done covers are still in print. he's now, it appears, the official
Asimov cover artist for Del Rey, having just completed the covers for a
reissue of the FOUNDATION series. He's also the cover artist for the
H. Beam Piper reprints from Ace and the YEAR'S BEST HORROR series from
DAW. As his fame increased, he began to do hard cover dustjackets
which have eventually made their way to the paperback versions: Anne
McCaffrey's WHITE DRAGON in 1978 was the first of over 30 hardbacks for
which he's done dustjackets and occasional interior illustrations.
The other aspect of Whelan's art that really intrigues me is that he
obviously reads the stories before doing the painting, and seems (to
me, anyway) to do his best work on the best stories. I find that I can
generally decide whether or not I'm going to like a book with a Whelan
cover simply by looking at his cover 'synopsis.' For instance: I
found Heinlein's THE CAT WHO WALKS THROUGH WALLS to be a good yarn at
first, but one that dissipated into meaningless drivel towards the
end. If you own a copy of the book, look at Whelan's cover portrayal
of the characters and tell me if you can find the torso of Richard
Ames. He, like the story, fades away into nothingness. The painting
itself is quite fetching, but ends up quite unsatisfying. It's
incomplete -- just like the story. Whelan doesn't lie with his
covers. They are very accurate reflections of the books they cover.
Donald Maitz is another favorite, though he leans more towards the
romantic than the real. Maitz has been associated with several writers
including Anthony, Carter, Cowper, Fisher, Flint, Lee, Lustbader,
Taylor, and Gene Wolfe. Though his people and settings seem real
enough at first glance, the romance of his work continues to thrill me
even after several viewings. Take, for instance, the cover to THE
WORTHING CHRONICLE by Orson Scott Card (Ace, July 1983). The main
design involves a golden figure encased in an underwater device
obviously meant to keep him alive. We know it's underwater because
bubbles are rising toward an unseen surface. They rise past the
horizontal figure and pass in front of a circle of intelligent origin
that also points back towards the source of the bubbles: a space
helmet trailing a torn air hose. Once we're convince of the watery
nature of these surroundings, we notice that there is a fantastic
looking fish chasing a smaller fish towards the left edge of the
cover. Then we notice that the smaller fish is chasing a small school
of yet tinier fish. This prompts us back to the right of the drawing
to see the curved snout of yet an even bigger fish that is about to
catch the first one. And there we are drawn by the curves of this fish
to inevitable notice the bracket that supports the cast of the human is
actually the artist's signature. You can see that there is fantasy,
design and humor to work, even to working his signature into the design
of each painting. But the real laugh came the second time I looked at
this cover and realized that all of the fish, predators and prey, are
swimming into the maw of a gigantic fish at the very left edge of the
cover. We only see the smallest portion of both upper and lower jaws,
and they aren't immediately recognizable as such, but it's a subtle
punchline with which few artists would have bothered. Someday I'll find
another copy and read the story - simply because of the intrigue of
Maitz's cover.
All of the artists I've mentioned display individual talents that
intrigue me, some obviously more than others. Their styles appeal to
my love of the unusual and the beautiful. Some of the images these
artists have created will remain with me forever -- having struck a
chord deep within my subconscious. What more could one ask for in a
hobby? Well, the greatest bonus I've gotten is that I've bought and
read dozens of books I would never have, simply because I dared to
judge them by their covers.
ABORIGINAL SF MAGAZINE #1
Editor, Charles C. Ryan
$2.50/issue bimonthly
Reviewed by
Fred Bals
Copyright 1986 by Fred Bals
E-mail: bals%nutmeg.DEC@decwrl.DEC.COM
ABORIGINAL SF is a new, bimonthly sf prozine published out of Woburn,
Massachusetts in a newspaper-sized format. Issue #1 (October, 1986), 24
pages in length, contains articles, book and media reviews, and four
pieces of fiction. The magazine has a mix of color and black-and-white
illustrations, plus photography.
My first inclination after finishing ABORIGINAL SF (ASF) was to be
tougher on the magazine than it deserves. ASF is professionally done --
the copy, printing, lay-out and color reproductions show a commitment
to produce a carefully thought-out, well-done magazine. Yet, ASF's
editorial staff shoot themselves in their collective foot by the second
page. In a near-terminal act of cuteness, the editor, Charles C. Ryan,
proclaims that ASF is published by an alien who is studying Earth and
has developed a fondness for SF. Hence the magazine's name, as the
alien considers us all to be aborigines. Ryan goes on to earnestly
claim that the alien has tapped into various writers' word processors
and is sending the material to his/her/its home planet. Ryan,
naturally, has tapped the alien's transmissions in turn and is
publishing the results.
Linked with the editorial is a "Report From Our Alien Publisher," which
is as stupid as you'd expect it to be. And of course, boys and girls,
there's also a NAME THAT ALIEN contest that gives us the opportunity to
win a lifetime (ours or the magazines) subscription to ASF! My hope is
that Ryan will come to his senses within the next few issues of ASF and
discard the whole alien publisher idea. Otherwise, the contest winner
may very well outlive their subscription.
Although this silliness effectively sabotages ASF's intent to be taken
as a serious prozine, the magazine is still worth your time to locate
and read. The book review column by Darrell Schweitzer is excellent,
and Schweitzer's opening remarks on the role of the reviewer have
interesting parallels to Chuq Von Rospach's article in OtherRealms #9.
Schweitzer, in my opinion, has always been one of the best of the
independent reviewers, offering good, strong criticism on SF works. ASF
will also be useful to many readers (especially those without
speciality book stores in their area) with its offering of a mail order
service that will provide copies of books reviewed or advertised in
each issue of the magazine.
Equally as good as Schweitzer's piece is Jessie Horsting's media review
column, "The Reel Stuff." Horsting offers facts, rumors, and gossip
from the Hollywood scene as it pertains to SF. She writes well, and her
column makes interesting reading. An overlong article by Hal Clement
called "The Home System," unfortunately deals with the home system of
the ubiquitous alien publisher of ASF. Excusing that, it's a
well-written hard-science piece for those interested in seeing how
Clement creates the backdrops for his stories. And those readers who
like information about authors and artists should be pleased with
Laurel Lucas' "Aborigines" column, which details the doings of many of
the contributors, as well as other notable SF figures. With the
exception of Orson Scott Card's "Prior Restraint," the fiction in ASF
#1 is pedestrian. Card's story is an interesting tale that is both
about, and for, writers. Couched in the plot lies an actual paradox
that all writers must sooner or later confront in their careers. Lou
Fisher contributes a rote story about a man and his robot, "Fixing
Larx," and John Moore puts a SF twist on a standard revenge plot in
"Sight Unseen." John A. Taylor's "The Phoenix Riddle" pulls a MEDEA:
HARLAN'S WORLD by having its setting placed in the "alien publisher's"
home system. I found the story unreadable -- in all fairness, mostly
because I was already prejudiced against anything else that even dealt
slightly with the alien publisher. Editor Ryan promises more stories
set in the "Home System." I can only wonder whether he already has
planned an anthology.
ABORIGINAL SF promises stories by Frederick Pohl, Harlan Ellison,
Connie Willis, and Charles L. Grant in later issues. If you're able to
ignore Ryan's alien publisher conceit and are looking for a
well-crafted magazine that appears to be trying to bridge the fan and
prozine markets, I recommend ABORIGINAL SF to your attention. The
editor notes ASF will only be available in bookstores specializing in
science fiction or through subscription from:
ABORIGINAL SF
Dept. 101
PO Box 2449
Woburn, MA 01888-9989
Six issues for $12, 12 issues for $22, 18 issues for $30. You can
obtain a sample copy of #1 by writing to the same address and enclosing
a check for $2.50 plus .50 cents postage.
What I Did on My Summer Vacation
- or -
WorldCon 1986
Jeff Copeland
Copyright 1986 by Jeff Copeland
E-mail: decvax!mcnc!jeff
My real summer vacation was spent in Atlanta, Georgia, starting at 5am
on Sunday August 31st, and ended a little more than three days later.
But the trip there took nearly a year and was an entertainment all its own...
My wife, Liz Schwarzin, and I counted this year's Hugo ballots and
administered the voting for the 1988 and 1989 WorldCon sites. It was
an interesting challenge, caused me to read about three-quarters of a
million words of science fiction, made us persona non grata in some
circles, was more work than I want to undertake again real soon, and
overall was the most fun I've had with my clothes on since I first read
THE HITCHHIKERS' GUIDE TO THE GALAXY. The point here is to talk mostly
about what happens behind the scenes at a World Science Fiction
Convention, and a little about what I did there.
The work on a WorldCon starts in earnest about a year before the actual
convention. By then, the basic plans have been laid, the guests of
honor chosen, the hotel contracts signed. But once last year's
convention is over, all eyes are turned toward the one coming up. So
Labor Day last year is when we started thinking about the details of
the 1986 Hugos.
This year, the convention organization was divided into five
divisions: administration (finance, volunteers, registration and Hugo
balloting), operations (communications, purchasing), publications
(press relations, program book, progress reports), events (the Hugo
cermony and masquerade), and programming.
So what happens before the convention? The program gets planned.
Panelists are contacted ("Dear Dr Sagan, We would be delighted if you
could be on a panel at WorldCon on large numbers..."). Big events are
blocked out in time and space (for a 6000 person convention, the
masquerade has to be in a room that holds at least 4000; the panel on
sex-and-fandom will probably be large and should be in a room that will
hold 500 people). Progress reports -- the news of how the convention
planning is proceeding -- are prepared and mailed to the membership,
and always, people write in to get memberships. The film program is
planned ("Mutant Tomatoes from Mars is a Hugo nominee, so I suppose
we'd better show it; how 'bout Wednesday morning at 2:30am?")
In July, it all goes into high gear: Memberships by mail close because
lists have to be prepared for use at convention registration. The
program is finalized, more-or-less --- there will be a myriad of
changes at the convention because people didn't show up, for example.
Hugo balloting ends, so they can be counted and the plaques engraved
with the winners' names before the convention. The program book goes
to press, with biographies of the guests, lists of past WorldCons, the
governing documents for the World Science Fiction Society, and so on.
Labor Day weekend, though, it all hits the fan, if you'll pardon the
pun. People arrive from all over the world, and all that planning goes
into play. The program works (or doesn't), there are major events and
presentations, an art show, exhibits, and a lot of parties. With luck,
the convention ends Monday afternoon, and everyone goes home having
enjoyed themselves.
How did this translate to one real department?
The nominating ballot for the Hugos went out in February. By the time
nominating was over on April Fools' Day, 570 of them had been
returned. Then the nominees were verified before they could appear on
the final ballot --- were the fiction nominees all in the right
categories?, had the fanzines published an issue in the last year?, and
so on --- there is nearly a page of these details in the rules that
govern the Hugos. [An aside here, to show you what sort of decisions
have to be made: It was the decision of the Hugo subcommittee this year
that SF-Lovers isn't a fanzine, despite the nominations it received.
Even though some of the Hugo subcommittee reads it, we couldn't justify
to ourselves that it either had a central editor or was generally
available, both of those in our view being necessary to be on the ballot.]
Once we had a list of valid nominees, we called most of them up to make
sure they accepted. Then the final ballot was typeset, then it was
printed and sent out with the site selection ballots. The Hugo ballots
started arriving almost immediately, at the rate of 15 or so a day,
until the last week before the July 15th deadline. That week, we got
260. We tried to enter the ballots into the computer as they arrived.
Time to get the ballots into the computer? About 100 hours altogther.
Total elapsed time for our IBM PC to count them? Seven minutes. Then
off to the engraver to get the plaques made.
Once we were in Atlanta, it got even more hectic. While Liz handled
all the work of managing the site selections (a full-time job by
itself), I took care of the details with the events people, attached
plaques to Hugo trophies, and got press releases written. (If you've
never seen a Hugo trophy before, they are a chrome statue of a rocket,
on a base that varies from year to year. Ben Jason and Jack McKnight
machined the first Hugos in the early 50's based on -- if I've got the
story right -- a Buick hood ornament. This years' bases were white
Georgia marble, and look damned good, if I do say so myself. I'm sure
there will be pictures in the October issues of Locus and Science
Fiction Chronicle, if you're interested.)
After the Hugo ceremony Saturday night, we skipped the parties, and sat
down with 12 folks from the five bidders for the '88 and '89
conventions and started counting the ballots to see whose turn would be
next after Brighton in 1987. That took until about 4:30 Sunday
morning. Which is how my REAL vacation started at 5am. (It would have
been much later, or in a straight-jacket though, if it hadn't been for
a lot of good help. Charlie Martin (crm@duke) and Chris Kostanick
(mongor!chris), for example, deserve heaps of praise for trailing
around after Liz and me and helping keep track of details.)
So why go to all this obvious effort? I once made the observation that
the folks who run conventions are a lot like the folks who do amateur
theatrical productions: they put in a lot of work for no money, under
a lot of stress, mostly for the ego gratification of having done it and
the thrill of watching it happen from the other side of the stage. The
crucial difference is that on a convention, almost nobody does the same
thing two years in a row, and almost never knows what to do until
they're into it -- which is why it's even more of a miracle that
WorldCons work at all. This year didn't prove me wrong. I had a lot
of fun watching the convention from the wings, even though I got to see
a lot of the wings and little of the convention.
The moral of this long story, for those of you who attend conventions,
is that there's a lot going on behind the scenes and in rehearsal (to
keep the theater analogy) that you don't see. And some people do this
almost full time avocational job, in addition to their regular
"mundane" job, as their rather odd idea of what constitutes "fun". Do
I find this paradoxical? No, I don't. But then, this is written by a
man who drafted the program to tally the Hugo ballots with an antique
fountain pen.
IT
Stephen King
[****]
Reviewed by
Dan'l Danehy-Oakes
Copyright 1986 by Dan'l Danehy-Oakes
E-Mail: djo@ptsfd.UUCP
This is gonna sound strange, friends and neighbors, but I swear, it all
happened JUST THIS WAY:
I took a ride to the local drive-in bookstore last Friday, and asked
for the novelization of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE II. "Not yet," they
told me, "but you might like this one," and handed me a big ol' book --
and people, I mean but BIG!!! How big was it? It was so big I
damn near got a hernia just writing the check to pay for it, that's
how big it was.
So I took this literary anatosaur back to my humble abode, and sat down
to sample the first few pages.
See, this little kid goes out to play with his toy boat. Only it goes
down a sewer drain, and when he looks down to see where it went there's
this clown down there, and the clown rips the kids arm off.
Then it started getting weird...
Next thing I knew, it was Sunday, my fingers were bleeding from turning
pages, my eyes were bloodshot from insufficient sleep, and I was STILL
500 pages from the end.
Heads, arms, and other assorted body parts roll (and some of 'em keep
on rolling long after any self-respecting dead, dismembered body part
would've stopped). There's knife-fu, belly-fu, tentacle-fu, claw-fu,
and too many other fu's to name 'em all. Even THINK-fu! Dan'l says,
check it out.
* * *
Sorry about that; King always affects me that way, a little. But now
that it's out of my system, let's take a look at IT.
To begin with, IT is easily the most complex novel King has given us
to date, written in the third person with six principal viewpoint
characters, numerous characters (including ITself) with brief passages
told from their viewpoints, long interludes told by one character in
the first person, and a passage in a journalistically neutral style.
Furthermore, it follows two separate actions, involving the same
characters but separated by 27 years, in a parallel structure so tight
that the transitions between the adult scenes and the childhood scenes
frequently take place in mid-sentence without feeling forced.
Laid out this way, it sounds a complete stylistic hodge-podge; and
that it does NOT come out a shambles when you read it is a good
indication of just how strong a writer King has become.
As a plain ol' story, this one's hard to beat. For four nights
running, it kept me turning pages, almost obsessively, until I fell
asleep from sheer exhaustion; I would get up in the morning, go to
work, and hurry home to find out WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.
King is at his very best when dealing with child protagonists. This
frequently leads to "clever" remarks about "arrested development," but
it is interesting to notice that the adult forms of the characters in
IT are his best-conceived (adult) characters to date, an honor
formerly held by John Smith of THE DEAD ZONE -- whom we also see as a
child, if only for one scene. Perhaps King needs to think through his
characters' childhoods in detail in order to make them "real" as adults?
There are weaknesses. I will mention only the biggest: the ending.
After the final defeat of the monster and the escape from ITs lair,
the characters are left with one major problem. To go into detail
would be a major spoiler, but suffice it to say that the solution
seems too easy, and too much of a deus-ex-machina for my tastes: this
is what cost the book its fifth star.
Recommended, highly, but with reservations -- primarily that you should
have a lot of free time, and NOT have a weak stomach.
Dimensions of Science Fiction
William Sims Bainbridge
Harvard University Press, 1986, Hardback,
278 pages
Reviewed by
R. E. Webber
Copyright 1986 by R. E. Webber
ihnp4!topaz!webber
The author investigates the science fiction subculture via a survey
completed by 595 participants at the Iguanacon World Science Fiction
Convention held in Phoenix, Arizona in 1978. One might well wonder why
it took 8 years for this information of congeal into a book. The
answer probably lies with the fact that although the author claims to
be closer to the truth because he crunched some numbers, the bulk of
the text is a rather classical history of science fiction done in the
scholarly mode (including 20 pages of bibliographic notes).
The survey consisted of a number of general questions about science
fiction and a section on rating authors. The participants ranked 140
science fiction and fantasy authors (including all Hugo and Nebula
winners) on a range from 0 to 6. The survey instructions requested
that unfamiliar authors be left unranked. 409 respondents managed to
rate more than fifty authors without ranking the two fake names
included in the survey. Of these, 276 managed to rate 75 or more
authors. In descending order, the highest ranking authors (in the
sense of having highest average ratings when ranked): Isacc Asimov,
Larry Niven, Robert A. Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, Poul Anderson,
Fritz Leiber, Anne McCaffrey, Ursula K. LeGuin, J. R. R. Tolkein,
Roger Zelazny, Theodore Sturgeon, Gordon R. Dickson, Zenna Henderson,
Raccoona Sheldon, Frederik Pohl, Clifford D. Simak, Robert Silverberg,
and Alfred Bester. Each of these had an average ranking over 4.5.
Isaac Asimov had the highest average ranking with 5.08. Raccoona
Sheldon scored 4.56 under that name and 4.52 under the name James
Tiptree, Jr.
Factor analysis on the rankings of the 276 who ranked more than 75
authors generated 4 orthogonal factors. Factor 1 was most strongly
associated with Isaac Asimov, Murray Leinster, Gordon R. Dickson, Jack
Williamson, Harry Harrison, and A. E. van Vogt. Factor 2 was most
strongly associated with Harlan Ellison, Robert Silverberg, Damon
Knight, Joanna Russ, Philp K. Dick, and Kate Wilhelm. Factor 3 was
most strongly associated with J. R. R. Tolkien, Anne McCaffrey, C. L.
Moore, Fritz Leiber, and Andre Norton. Factor 4 was most strongly
associated with H. G. Wells, Jules Verne, Edgar Allan Poe, H. P.
Lovecraft, George Orwell, and Arthur Conan Doyle. The problem with the
notion that this study is scientific starts with the naming of these
factors as, respectively: hard science fiction, new wave, fantasy, and
classics. The next hundred pages of the text revolve around the claim
that these names are a reasonable interpretation of whatever lies
behind the factors. This is done by presenting the same kind of
material as a traditional presentation of science fiction would (with
occasional cross references to the survey). The less the author is
trying to be "scientific", the more he becomes "interesting".
The author presents science fiction in terms of the history of those
aspects of science fiction that group among the first three factors.
The discussion of each group is a mixture of determining what authors
are favoured by that group and what other opinions are held
specifically by members of that group. Additional authors of the "Hard
Science tradition" are: Clement, Reynolds, Pournelle, del Rey, Smith,
Laumer, Anderson, Niven, Clarke, Simak, Campbell, Bova, Hoyle,
Wollheim, Heinlein, Carter, Pohl, Robinson, Haldeman, Blish, and de
Camp. For our respondents, Space Opera is as strongly tied to
Sword-and-Sorcery as it is to hard science. Of course this observation
is just part of a running discussion of how much science is there in
science fiction. Additional authors of "the New Wave" are: Sturgeon,
Malzberg, Aldiss, Lafferty, Burdys, Tiptree, Vonnegut, Spinrad, Delany,
Huxley, Merril, Orwell, Brunner, LeGuin, Pohl, Davidson, Bloch, Bester,
Bradbury, and Haldeman. The New Wave is presented as emphasizing
"literary and aesthetic values, seeking to create the art of the future
rather than the science of the future". Additional authors of "the
Fantasy cluster" are: Merritt, Haggard, Howard, Moorcock, Lewis,
Bradley, de Camp, Burroughs, Lovecraft, and Zelazny. While the Hard
Science tradition and the New Wave are presented has having activistic
overtones, the Fantasy cluster seems to support the status quo.
The remaining 75 pages of the main text turn to the more general
questions of the survey. The author finds that both science fiction
and fantasy readers have a substantially higher regard for the space
program than the general public. However, while science fiction has
always encouraged thoughts about space flight, the author claims, as
stated in his earlier book (The Spaceflight Revolution, 1976) that it
is doubtful that science fiction has had much pro-space impact on the
general public. Mostly science fiction is viewed as a place where
free-thinkers congregate and are exposed to a variety of ideas. The
educational value of science fiction appears to be in broadening the
reader's horizons rather than in the presentation of science. Indeed,
it is noted that science fiction seldom presents people involved in
scientific research (as opposed to presenting "scientists" performing
various social functions). There is also a discussion of the growing
role of women in fandom (and the possible relevance of Star Trek to
this phenomenon).
Above, I have presented the main themes of this book. Let me stress
that the survey plays a larger role in the above summary than it does
in the actual text. The text is filled with interesting quotes and
citations, for example, Sturgeon's Law was first presented in a book
review for Venture Science Fiction (March 1958) and Heinlein's Space
Cadet became a popular 50's television show: Tom Corbett, Space Cadet.
Thus the text yields to light skimming as well as concentrated study.
OtherRealms is Copyright 1986
by Chuq Von Rospach
All rights reserved
One time rights have been acquired from the contributors. All rights
are hereby assigned to the contributors.
Reproduction rights: OtherRealms may be reproduced only for
non-commercial uses. Re-use, reproduction or reprinting of an
individual article in any way on any media, is forbidden without
permission.
source text file
Issue 10, Part 2, November 1986
OtherRealms
A Reviewzine for the Non-Fan
Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life
Issue #10
November, 1986
Part 2
Pico Reviews
ANYBODY CAN WRITE: A PLAYFUL APPROACH TO WRITING [****]
by Jean Bryant
Whatever Publishing, Inc. 1985 6.95 ISBN 0-931432-21-9
A must for the beginning writer who is often stymied by the sheer
volume of garbage one often writes before getting anything
"acceptable". It is for those who have tried to capture those
wonderful ideas but have been disappointed to find that they can't
spell, have terrible grammar, are completely disorganized, or just
can't get past their own inner critic. This is a cheerful and fun
approach that involves word play, some suggestions for a solid
psychological bask, and journal keeping. The book is supportive,
irreverent, amusing, and very practical, "for the unwriter, beginner,
and would-be writer." Normally I do not enjoy reading about how to
write; however this book had me chuckling, commiserating and then
writing throughout.
-- Liralen Li
li@uw-vlsi.arpa
CALLAHAN'S SECRET by Spider Robinson [****/**]
Berkley, 1986, $2.95, 172 pages
I didn't find the last story nearly as offensive as Chuq did, though it
did shatter some of my preconceived ideas as to what Callahan's
*should* be all about (hence the ** rating). Other than that, I'd give
the book the first rating. The Callahan stories are beginning to wear
on Spider in this book, though he still has some excellent moments and
puns. But really, one shouldn't give the Macintosh computer, for all
it's positive traits, plugs in a SF book. Come on Spider, you know
better than that!
-- Peter Korn
korn@ucbvax.berkeley.edu
THE CRUCIBLE OF TIME by John Brunner [***-]
Del Rey, 1982, $3.50, 413 pages
Short story type approach to the evolution of a space-faring race (in
the style of Asimov's Foundation trilogy). In the end it's satisfying,
but too little progress is made between the too many story-images that
this evolution is broken up into.
-- Peter Korn
korn@ucbvax.berkeley.edu
DREAMING THE DARK: MAGIC, SEX, AND POLITICS by Starhark [*]
Beacon Press, 1982, trade paper, $9.95
Witchcraft on the anti-nuclear protest lines. Boring.
-- chuq von rospach
EON by Greg Bear [*****]
TOR Science Fiction, 500 pages
This is an exceptional book. With a few slight reservations (too much
stereotyping of the Soviet characters) I would rate this as the best
new SF book I've read so far this year. Excellent. Well worth the
long read.
-- Dave Taylor
hplabs!hpldat!taylor
FOOTFALL by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle [****]
Del Rey, 1985, $4.95, 581 pages
Invasion by aliens, with almost every conceivable Earth faction
represented. Complaints: at $4.95 it should have been better than
Lucifer's Hammer -- it wasn't quite; additionally, I wanted more from
the Soviet contingent, which, as it was, didn't really say or do all
that much. But, like all Niven/Pournelle combos, it was highly
entertaining and pretty suspenseful (though again, not nearly as much
as Lucifer's Hammer). How Niven & Pournelle expect me to keep track of
all of their characters I'll never know!
-- Peter Korn
korn@ucbvax.berkeley.edu
GALACTIC CLUSTER by James Blish [***]
NEL, 1968 (first 1960), (English ed.), 128 pages
A collection of some good, some not so good short stories. The last
one, "Beep", is excellent, and worth the price of the book used. The
others are somewhat less than satisfying.
-- Peter Korn
korn@ucbvax.berkeley.edu
THE GAME OF EMPIRE by Poul Anderson [***+]
Baen Books, 1985, $3.50, 278 pages
Touted as the "First new Flandry novel in years", mighty little of Sir
Dominic Flandry is to be found within the many pages of this book.
It's really about a bastard(?) daughter of his, and her adventures and
the part she has to play in saving the Terran Empire from the Merasians
this time. In fact, she does next to nothing, but why should that stop
it from being called a Flandry novel anyway? That aside, it's a tad
slow for my liking, without enough character development (we see the
stereotypes, but not much more than that).
-- Peter Korn
korn@ucbvax.berkeley.edu
GLORIANA by Michael Moorcock [*-]
Questar SF, 1978, $3.95
A 1978 work hitting paperback in 1986. A World Fantasy Award winner,
Michael Moorcock writes Harlequin soft core porn. Someone must have
liked it to win that award, but I found it bad Fantasy, bad Harlequin,
and boring soft core.
-- chuq von rospach
HOKA by Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson [**+]
Tor SF, 1983, $2.95
A fascinating premise: intelligent teddy bears with an imagination so
active they can't really tell where reality ends. Teddy bears with a
ferocious ability to read and adopt Terran literature. Anderson and
Dickson are writing stories that parody various pieces of literature.
the stories are well done, but there is only one joke told many
different ways, and half way through I found myself bored with the
sameness. A book to read one story at a time.
-- chuq von rospach
JACK OF EAGLES by James Blish [****]
Avon, 1952, $0.60, 176 pages
Very few faults in this one. Only it's not a typical SF book. Instead
it deals with PSI, and does a damn good job of it. To those who know
Blish, don't worry; he doesn't wax religious in this book (another
plus). Suspenseful too, with just a touch of Zelazny's Amber series.
-- Peter Korn
korn@ucbvax.berkeley.edu
ONE STEP FROM EARTH by Harry Harrison [***+]
TOR, 1985 (originally 1970), $2.95, 253 pages
Stories all around the central theme of a teleportation device, tracing
it's use and refinements to it over several centuries. I've seen one
of the stories elsewhere -- I'm not sure how many have been published
in separate works. The stories are all entertaining and lively, with
solid plots and characters.
-- Peter Korn
korn@ucbvax.berkeley.edu
ON THE GOOD SHIP ENTERPRISE by Bjo Trimble [****]
Donning Co., 1983, $6.95, 286 pages
A NEAT book! Bjo, (pronounced Bee-joe) relates various stories about
Star Trek (ST) fandom. While she does tend to stray from that central
subject occasionally, the paths she takes are entertaining enough for
me to not really find fault with them. It's a tad egocentric in it's
style (in the literal, and not derogatory sense); but then, she does
say in the forward that all the stores are going to be from her point
of view... but c'mon, having over 1/3 of the photographs of 'fandom'
being shots with the author in them is a tad much! Nonetheless, the
stories are VERY entertaining and nostalgic. If you enjoyed Star Trek,
you'll enjoy this book.
-- Peter Korn
korn@ucbvax.berkeley.edu
THE STAR DWELLERS by James Blish [****]
Sphere Books, 1979 (written 1961), 85p (English ed.), 141 pages
A good Heinlein Juvie if I ever saw one, save that the author's name is
different. Only complaint: we don't get details of the ending battle.
Else, it's hard to distinguish it from a Heinlein.
-- Peter Korn
korn@ucbvax.berkeley.edu
THE STAR FOX by Poul Anderson [****-]
Signet, 1964, $0.75, 207 pages
Good, intricate plot, well developed and told. My only two complaints:
1) too much foreign language [mostly French, with a bit of German as
well], and 2) he doesn't give us a detailed play by play of the final
space battle. Else, well worth reading.
-- Peter Korn
korn@ucbvax.berkeley.edu
SWORD AND SORCERESS by Marion Zimmer Bradley [***-]
Daw Books, 1984, $2.95
An anthology of Sword and Sorcery type books with a twist -- female
protagonists. The stories range from the good ("The Garnet and the
Glory" by Phyllis Ann Karr to pretty bad, with a lot of average
material. I give it a marginal recommendation depending on how you
like this type of material.
-- chuq von rospach
A TORRENT OF FACES by James Blish & Norman Knight [****]
Ace, 1967, $1.50, 285 pages
Reminds me a bit of Harrison's Make Room! Make Room!, without all the
judgemental anger. At times the characters can get a bit confusing to
follow, though it all works itself out in the end. The story's about
the life and times of a couple of characters on a overcrowded Earth,
and what these characters are doing about it. Good ending.
-- Peter Korn
korn@ucbvax.berkeley.edu
VIRGIN PLANET by Poul Anderson [**]
Warner Books/Galaxy, 1960, 65p (English ed.), 159 pages
Dumb idea with a dumber plot and even dumber characters. Cocky, wimpy
guy lands on a planet of only women and, though he tries his hardest,
never gets any. Why waste your time?
--Peter Korn
korn@ucbvax.berkeley.edu
WAVE WITHOUT A SHORE by C. J. Cherryh [***+]
DAW, $2.50, 1981, 176 pages
Could you build a society that *REALLY* believed in existentialism?
Something doesn't exist unless you believe it exists? The problems
this poses, as well as the struggle between art and politics is the
basis of some interesting speculations.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu
THE WAY OF ZEN by Alan W. Watts [****]
Vintage, 1957, trade paperback, $4.95
A history of Zen Buddhism as well as an introduction to the philosophy
and meaning behind this Eastern faith. A good starting point for the
interested reader.
-- chuq von rospach
WHEN GOD WAS A WOMAN by Merlin Stone [****]
Harvest/HBJ, 1976, trade paper, $6.95
A scholarly study of the older, woman/Nature based religions and how
and Christianity overtook, overthrew, and discredited them. A good
perspective religion as politics, religion as social control. The
Fundamentalists will hate it, as it shows Christianity in a negative
light, but from the looks of things a deserved light.
-- chuq von rospach
THE WORTHINGTON CHRONICLE by Orson Scott Card [***]
Ace, $2.75, 1983, 264 pages
This is largely based on two previous books: "Hot Sleep" and "Capitol".
These three books deal with the earth empire built on controlled
suspended animation, telepathy, the fall of the empire, and its
aftermath. This book is how the entire history is told to a young boy
in a small village of an obscure planet. As with all Card, it is well
written and the story is nice hard SF.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu
Books Received
Books Received lists copies of books sent to OtherRealms for review.
Since review copies are sent out near the time of publication it is a
notice that these books are now (or will soon be) on the shelves of
your local bookstore.
Avon Fantasy
Dietz, Tom. WINDMASTER'S BANE, 1986, 279 pages, $3.50
Avon Horror
Slonaker, Larry. VOICE OF THE VISITOR, 1986, 227 pages, $3.50
Avon Science Fiction
Anthony, Piers. MUTE, 1981, first publication, 440 pages, $4.95
Arnason, Elanor. TO THE RESURRECTION STATION, 1986, 176 pages, $3.50
Baen Science Fiction
Caidin, Martin. ZOBOA, 1986, 430 pages, $3.50. Mainstream near future
adventure. Exceptionally tacky cover blurb.
Space And Time
[Space And Time is a small press, with limited distribution.
Books can be ordered directly through
138 West 70th Street (4B), New York, NY 10023-4432]
Anderson, Jani. BRINGING DOWN THE MOON, 1985, 251 pages, $7.95 trade
paperback. Horror/Mystery anthology. Very good production
quality.
Gottfried, Chet. THE STEEL EYE, 1984, 151 pages, $5.95 trade
paperback. Science Fiction/Mystery novel, including material
published in IASFM. Not typeset, published from typewriter
copy.
Lansdale, Joe. DEAD IN THE WEST, 1986, 119 pages, $6.95 trade
paperback. Horror/Western novel. Originally published in
Eldritch Tales #10-13, tribute to pulps and Wierd Tales.
Linzner, Gordon. THE SPY WHO DRANK BLOOD, 1984, 127 pages, $5.95 trade
paperback. Science Fiction/Mystery novel. Very good production
quality.
Starblaze Graphics
Asprin, Robert & Abbey, Lynn. THIEVES' WORLD Graphic #1, 1985, $3.95.
graphic novel version of Thieves' World series, published
quarterly.
Asprin, Robert & Abbey, Lynn. THIEVES' WORLD Graphic #2, 1986, $3.95.
Asprin, Robert & Abbey, Lynn. THIEVES' WORLD Graphic #3, 1986, $3.95.
Tor Fantasy
Carpenter, Leonard. CONAN THE RAIDER. 1986, 276 pages, $6.95 trade
paperback. Includes essay "Conan the Indestructible" by L.
Sprague de Camp
Charnas, Suzy McKee. THE VAMPIRE TAPESTRY. 1980, first Tor printing
ctober 1986, 294 pages, $2.95
Cooper, Louise. THE OUTCAST. 1986, 316 pages, $2.95. Second book in
the Time Master Trilogy. THE INITIATE, first book in the
series, is being re-issued.
Shwartz, Susan. MOONSINGER'S FRIENDS: IN HONOR OF ANDRE NORTON. 1985,
first Tor printing, 342 pages, $3.50. Tor Horror
Davis, Maggie. FORBIDDEN OBJECTS. 1986, 276 pages, $3.50
Laws, Stephen. GHOSTTRAIN. 1985, first Tor printing, 314 pages, $3.95
Laymon, Richard. NIGHTSHOW. 1984, first Tor printing, 285 pages, $3.50
Tor Science Fiction
Chalker, Jack L. SOUL RIDER BOOK FIVE: CHILDREN OF FLUX AND ANCHOR,
1986, 350 pages, $3.50
Dalmas, John. THE WALKAWAY CLAUSE. 1986, 253 pages, $2.95
Klaper, Steven. AGENTS OF INSIGHT. 1986, 224 pages, $2.95
OtherRealms Notes
Space is very tight this issue (so what else is new?) so this is going
to be very short. After working with putting together short fiction
for the last few months, I've come to the conclusion that trying to
wedge fiction into OtherRealms is a Bad Idea.
I think publishing fiction is a Good Thing, personally, and I want to
do it, but the current format is doing nobody any service. It takes up
needed page space from OtherRealms primary purpose -- reviews. The
Pico Review section is very short this month because of this, even
though I upped the total page count from 30 to 36. As my article
backlog grows, spending space on anything that doesn't enhance
OtherRealms primary focus is wrong. So, for now, please hold your fiction.
* * *
There was a problem in the attribution of the copyright of the David
Lindsay article in #8. I accidently published the copyright in the
name of the dead author, David Lindsay, instead of the real author,
Gary Allen. Sorry for any confusion and my apologies to Gary for the
screwup.
Words of Wizdom
Reviews by
Chuq Von Rospach
Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach
Doubleday & Company is a hard publisher to comprehend. They aren't
well known for their SF or Fantasy, and they don't publish much,
despite the fact that their top author is Isaac Asimov. When they do
publish something, it tends to be quite good. Unfortunately, Doubleday
doesn't push their wares very heavily, and you have to watch them or
you'll miss some real gems. The Feist books (MAGICIAN, SILVERTHORN,
and A DARKNESS AT SETHANON) were originally published as Doubleday
hardcovers, and languished on the lists until Feist hit the convention
circuit and the book got published in paper.
They just published another gem, and it deserves better than being
hidden on the midlist. DAGGERSPELL (Doubleday & Company, 1986, $16.95
hardcover) is a first novel by author Katharine Kerr. Kerr is a
contributing editor for Dragon Magazine, the house organ for the TSR
Dungeon and Dragon people.
Kerr has a strong sense of Fantasy. This isn't a D&D game turned into
a novel. There are no unicorns, orcs, trolls, or any of the overworked
characters all too prevalent in Fantasy today. Kerr melds a strong
Celtic mythology (another Fantasy standard on the verge of overuse)
mixed with a theme of reincarnation. Nevyn fails his beloved and his
friends, causing them to die and await their rebirth, but also making
it impossible for them to find their final rest until the unrest in
their souls are resolved. Nevyn vows not to seek his final rest until
he repairs the damage he has wrought -- a vow the Gods, to his dismay,
take upon his word.
The result is a quest through the generations, as Nevyn searches for
the aura's of those he has vowed to protect. Their memories are lost
when they are reborn, but the personality and the problems carry
forward. He slowly untwines all of the tangles he's wrought as we
learn about the society, the people, and about Nevyn himself.
Kerr has charted a dangerous course here. There is a very extended
time line, various characters re-appear under different names over
time, and there is a fine line between the complexity she's built and
total chaos for the reader. A line, fortunately, she walks very
skillfully. This book is the first book in a series, which to me is
good news. I definitely want to see more from this author. At the
same time, it definitely stands alone, and Kerr brought it to a
definite ending, so you don't need to wait for the next books to find
out what happened. I can't recommend this book highly enough. You may
well have to order it, since Doubleday doesn't seem to be pushing it
very hard. It's worth it. In a year with a prime crop of new and
interesting authors, Kerr has earned my vote for the Campbell award. [*****]
* * *
Piers Anthony can be a very good author when he wants to be.
Regardless of how well he writes, though, he's built enough of a market
that anything with his name on it sells quite well. As a result,
everyone is publishing Anthony. In the last month, three books have
been released: Del Rey has WIELDING A RED SWORD, the latest
Incarnation of Immortality, Avon has MUTE, and Tor has brought out
STEPPE (Tor Science Fiction, 1976, 252 pages, $3.50), a 1976 British
book just seeing its first American release.
When Anthony is good, he is very good. With STEPPE, he is awful.
First, the book is VERY short -- my word count shows it to be less than
27,000 words, typeset very sparsely to make it look like a real novel.
It isn't, and its shortness is an advantage because the misery is
finished that much sooner. The plot reads like Conan the Barbarian in
the 24th and a Half Century. Anthony seems to be following Asimov into
the "publishing more is publishing better" end of the genre. He will
probably get quite rich doing so, but he isn't doing his readers any
favors. STEPPE is a bad book in general, and very bad Anthony. He can
do much better, and it is a shame he doesn't bother. [ ]
* * *
On the other hand, Anthony's latest Incarnation book, WIELDING A RED
SWORD (Del Rey, October, 1986, 267 pages plus 30 pages of authors
ramblings, $16.95) is as good as STEPPE is bad. We meet the fourth of
the five Incarnations -- Mars, the Incarnation of War. Satan is up to
his old tricks again, and the new Mars (who happens to be a Hindu and
doesn't particularly believe in Satan OR Hell, even though he visits
there; this was a nice touch) has to work his little tail off to try to
keep up. Barely, in a last minute effort, he outwits Satan. We meet
all of the other Incarnations, but they play very minor roles in this
novel. This is a rousing romp, closer to mind candy fun than serious
literature. I enjoyed the Hell out of it (so to speak). You probably
will, too. [***+]
This series has had problems with very uneven writing. ON A PALE
HORSE, the first book about Death, was wonderful, but the next, BEARING
AN HOURGLASS was simply bad. Anthony has always had trouble writing
decent female characters, which made the third one (about Fate, WITH A
TANGLED SKEIN) awkward. This tendency of his makes me worry about the
Gaea novel, the other female incarnation. Another worry is the fact
that Anthony recently signed for a number of new Incarnation novels
after the fifth and "final" one. I don't think ANY of the Incarnations
are going to be interesting more than once, and I'm sorry that he
didn't let it die when it was good. I don't know how he is going to
continue it (perhaps writing about minor Incarnations, a twist added in
SWORD). Regardless, I expect the series will run down long before the
books stop coming, which is too bad.
Also, I wish Anthony (and all the other authors that commit the heinous
sin of "Author Notes") would cut it out! Anthony's are getting longer
and longer, and more and more boring and offensive. I don't like the
concept of notes to start with (with very rare, scholarly exceptions)
and Anthony's are a waste of some valuable and rare paper pulp. If a
story doesn't stand on its own, there is something very wrong with the
story. I don't expect an actor to interpret his movie for me, so why
should an author interpret his book? Or, in Anthony's case, his life?
Save it for the scholarly press and the autobiography.
* * *
The sequel to R.A. MacAvoy's TEA WITH THE BLACK DRAGON is out.
TWISTING THE ROPE (Bantam, 1986, 242 pages, $3.50) is a frustrating
book, and I find it very hard to describe why. It isn't a Fantasy, for
one thing. MacAvoy puts in a few very tiny hooks to the genre, but the
really have nothing to do with the story, which is a murder mystery.
A group of touring Celtic musicians are in Santa Cruz, near the end of
an eight week tour. Tempers are at an edge, mainly centered around the
perverse nastiness of George St. Ives. The road manager is none other
than Mayland Long, AKA the Black Dragon, who tries to die of a cold
throughout the book.
To nobody's surprise, except the people in the book, St. Ives turns up
dead. One major problem with the book is that he doesn't die for the
first 100 pages, which is much too long for the cast of characters to
walk around waiting for something to do.
Once St. Ives dies, the book picks up, but it is more of a spiritual
sequel to THE BOOK OF KELLS than it is TEA. It looks like MacAvoy had
a contract for a Black Dragon book, had a lot of research left over
from KELLS, and wanted to write a mystery. I can't recommend it unless
you are a real MacAvoy fan. It isn't badly written by any means, I
just found it hard to get interested in anything the book did, because
none of the characters were well defined enough or sympathetic to make
me care.
I find this very disturbing. MacAvoy is a wondeful writer, but after
TEA and DAMIANO, her books seem to be getting less and less
interesting. MacAvoy seems to be writing distance between her
characters and the reader, and the later books are simply not as
engrossing. She is a major talent, but I'd hate to think that her
first books will be her best. So far, though, that has been the case,
and I hope the next book will be better. [**]
* * *
If you are as tired of unicorn Fantasy as I am, then you'll enjoy A
MULTITUDE OF MONSTERS (Ace Fantasy, 1986, 195 pages, $2.95) by Craig
Shaw Gardner. This is the sequel to A MALADY OF MAGICKS and Ebenezum
is back, still searching for a cure to his magical allergy before the
demons of the Netherhells catch up with him. This time, he and his
hapless apprentice Hubert and their entourage (the warrior Hendrek,
complete with rented magical club Headbasher and Snarks, the demon who
got kicked out of the Netherhells for being truthful) run into an
exploding Brownie and the Association for the Advancement of Mythical
and Imaginary Beasts and Creatures. The AFTAOMAIBAC, it seems, has
decided to get equal time on tapestries for all the mythical creatures
in the land (even Bog Womblers!), and they are just about as tired of
Unicorn's as I am.
This is all quite hilarious, and even funnier than the first book. The
story moves along quite quickly, from strange experience to stranger,
and tells a good tale while making fun of all the cornerstones of
Fantasy at the same time. A great change of pace. [****]
* * *
The big disappointment for me this month was THE SUMMER TREE by Guy
Gavriel Kay (Berkley Fantasy, 1984, 323 pages, $3.50). The book has
gotten good reviews, friends have forced copies into my hands, and I
was told nothing but wonderful things about it.
Kay is a good writer, but SUMMER TREE is a melange of half thought out
mythology (mostly a hacked up Celtic pantheon, with traces of Nordic
and Judeo-Christian, with sexes, names and faces re-arranged to protect
the godlings). I found the pantheon he developed half thought out,
incomplete, confusing, and inconsistent.
There are very few characters in the book. Instead, he writes in a
number of standard Fantasy archetypes -- the Aged and Good King (who's
dying, of course). The Eldest Brother and Heir, exiled. The second
brother, Drunkard and Lech, suddenly thrust into an unwanted Heirdom to
the throne. Political maneuverings. Evil Chamberlains. Gandalf the
Grey (actually, Silvercloak the Mage, but what means a name?)
The problem with this is that Guy allows the Archetypes to be his
characterizations. Instead on building upon the base they create, he
makes them the entire character. This is worse than a stereotype --
these aren't people, they are automatons. You know exactly what they
are going to do and why, and they never surprise you. Plot twists and
unexpected happenings simply don't exist in this book.
A major failing in the book for me is the non-character Jennifer.
Early in the book, five Chosen are brought through some kind of magical
time warp from Earth to Fionavar. Four of the five run around, talk,
have adventures, and generally attempt to develop their characters.
Remember Star , you can find the pieces from Mallory, but the pieces
from Kay are missing. The book is 100% derivative, and thanks, but I'd
rather read the original. [*]
* * *
SWORDS AND DEVILTRY by Fritz Leiber (Ace Fantasy, 1970, $2.95) is an
older work that I finally got around to reading. It is the first book
of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, and included the Nebula Award winning
"Ill Met in Lankhmar," the story of the first meeting between the two
swordsman. The other two stories, "The Snow Women" and "The Unholy
Grail" are about Fafhrd and Gray Mouser (respectively) before they meet
up. These characters are the classic characters of Sword and Sorcery
Fantasy, and reading the original will give you an idea of how this
subgenre ought to be written -- the rest of the genre is a pale
imitation. [*****]
* * *
FUTUREDAYS (An Owl Book, Henry Holt and Company, 1986, 96 pages trade
paperback, $12.95) is the first publication of a set of cigaratte cards
commissioned in 1899 to show what the future would be like in the year
2000. The cards have been in a previously unpublished, and they are
printed with commentary by Isaac Asimov.
There are some problems with the book that make me like it less than I
otherwise would have. It is published on high quality stock and all of
the plates are color, so a lot of work went into publication.
Unfortunately, most of the plates are printed so that they use less
than half the space on a page, the rest being left white. Other plates
are reduced and printed two to a page. I would have much preferred to
have them enlarged to page size, as there is a lot of detail to the
cards that can't be easily seen in their current format. Also, the
commentary by Asimov is irritating at best. He seems to alternate
between a superior tongue in cheek tone (admonishing a commercial
artist for not understanding the technology of the future) and being
snobbily superior. His 20-20 hindsight makes it easy for him to
second-guess the artist, but the way he does it was, to me, insulting
to the works he was trying to explain. When you can get it at
discount, buy it for the pictures -- they are good although they could
be better. I wish they had chosen someone more sympathetic to explain
them, though. [**]
* * *
SWORD-DANCER (DAW Fantasy, 1986, 286 pages, $3.50) is the first book
I've read by Jennifer Roberson, and its good. What happens to a male
dominated society when a swordswoman on a quest for her missing brother
comes traipsing into town?
If this sounds like a relatively standard plotline, you're right. But
Roberson writes around it and brings it to life. There are also two
twists that make this book especially interesting. First, it is
written in the first person from the point of view of a male swordsman
who hires himself on to help the woman find her brother. We watch a
male chauvinist come to grips with a woman, someone BETTER than him at
his chosen trade, through disbelief, ridicule and anger to respect and
love and admiration. Much has been written on the problems of male
writers writing believable female characters. Here is a case where a
female writer has taken on a sympathetic and complex male character,
and pulled it off marvelously. Another thing that Roberson explores is
what happens after the quest. When a person focuses their entire being
for a number of years on a single idea, something that comes to pass,
then what happens? Too many books ride happily (or unhappily, as the
case may be) into the sunset, living happily ever after. That just
doesn't happen in Real Life, and Roberson explores the withdrawal and
depression that happens when the one thing that matters in your life
for as long as you can remember no longer matters.
Very well done, the find of the month for me. Highly recommended, and
probably deserves consideration for some kind of award. [*****]
* * *
I'm a sucker for shared world anthologies. The Baen Books anthology,
the Heroes in Hell series, had a lot of potential. The first two
volumes were very disappointing to me, and the first novel, THE GATES
OF HELL by Janet Morris and C.J. Cherryh, carry on the tradition of
slipshod writing and unfufilled possibilities. Heroes in Hell is a
rehash of Farmer's Riverworld, but Morris and friends seem to insist on
playing cutsey. It isn't improving, so I'm pulling it off my reading
list. THE GATES OF HELL is not recommended. []
* * *
News of Note: Owen Lock has been named editor-in-chief of Del Rey
Books. He has been acting in this position since Judy-Lynn Del Rey fell
ill. He won't replace her, but he will, I think keep Del Rey a
powerful and progressive publisher.
OtherRealms is Copyright 1986
by Chuq Von Rospach
All rights reserved
One time rights have been acquired from the contributors. All rights
are hereby assigned to the contributors.
Reproduction rights: OtherRealms may be reproduced only for
non-commercial uses. Re-use, reproduction or reprinting of an
individual article in any way on any media, is forbidden without
permission.
source text file
Issue 10, Part 3, November 1986
OtherRealms
A Reviewzine for the Non-Fan
Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life
Issue #10
November, 1986
Part 3
The Ozzie and Harriet
Fiction by
Fred Bals
E-mail: bals%nutmeg.DEC@decwrl.DEC.COM
Copyright 1986 by Fred Bals
[This story was a quarter finalist in the 1986 Writers of the
Future contest, and is Fred's first published work. He works
for Digital Equiptment and lives in New Hampshire.]
Everyone knows that Traci Walsh did the best Elvis, but I'm the only
Ozzie who has Joplin down cold. With Traci gone I'm the best Ozzie
left. Of course, the way things are now that might not mean much.
Traci's spectacular pile-in at the walls of Graceland has started up
the whole Ozzie versus MOC debate again, with lots of flaming
editorials in the tapers and intense moaning from the video MOCs too.
No surprise. You really expect a MOC to say, "Give control back to the
Ozzies"? It'd be nice to hear, though. I wish I could finagle just a
couple of minutes with the Net's Cronkite MOC. "Hrhhmm," old Cronk
would say. "And that's the way things were today, December 18, 2052.
Give me back my Ozzie or I'll drop my pants."
No matter what happened to Traci, it's not dangerous being an Ozzie.
You just have to watch your attitude and take basic precautions. I
mean, what was Traci doing in Memphis in the first place? And where
were her people when she drove that stupid, pink Cadillac into
Graceland? Traci always traveled with a crowd. It was part of her image.
Sure, we identify. And Traci got into Elvis more than was safe. That's
why she should have followed the absolute rule for Ozzies. Never, ever
travel anywhere that has bad associations. You'll never see this little
Ozzie in Los Angeles or Port Arthur. In fact, southern California and
all of Texas are directly excluded from my tour. I'd have San Francisco
knocked out too if it wouldn't destroy the profit margin. In its own
way, this city is more dangerous than anywhere else for me.
Well, Janis isn't Elvis, thank the Rock n' Roll gods. When you start
thinking about it, what place wouldn't have bad associations for the
King? And for Traci?
But Janis and I can handle San Francisco. We're already handling it. I
got in this morning.
After checking into my hotel I spent the morning walking what was left
of the Haight, riding the crest of the street's old memory waves. But
my mood rapidly flattened as I watched hoolie street kids shake down
the tourists for spare change. Nobody carries change anymore. So candy,
buttons and pocket lint were falling through their hoolie hands, and
little street sweepers were scurrying around cleaning up the whole
mess. None of the tourists seemed to notice or care. After all, the
illusion was what they were there for, right? If the kids are really
MOC-controlled hoolies, they don't smell bad or get nasty either.
I work with illusions. I prefer reality in my spare time. So I
about-faced for the walk back to my hotel. But a rainbow splatter of
clothes was standing in my way.
"Go away, fake," I said and started to walk through it. But instead of
fading away like a good hoolie, this one bounced off of me and landed
hard on the sidewalk. "What are you, crazy?" she wailed as her
dandelion head-wreath fell askew over one eye.
I started laughing and reached down to help her back to her feet. "I'm
sorry," I said. "I thought you were a hoolie. Let me make it up to you
with a drink?"
She was laughing now too. "You've got a deal," she said.
She wanted wine when we got to the cafe. "So tell me why you were
imitating a hippie hoolie?" I asked.
She twirled her glass slowly on the table. "I'm taking this course on
the counter-culture of the 1960s. I wanted to try to get a feel for
what it was really like for a paper I'm doing."
"And what was it like?" I asked.
"It wasn't like what it was."
I was trying to straighten that out when she added, "It didn't work. Me
and everyone else trying to pretend we were 90 years in the past. I
couldn't talk to the hoolies. They've all got their own programmed
paths, so I had to keep getting out of their way. All the people were
embarrassed when they found out I was real. And then you tried to walk
through me."
I was hardly listening. Somehow, she looked very familiar. She had the
gift of seemingly changing her features at will, becoming beautiful one
moment, plain the next. A tough jaw, long honey-brown hair, gray eyes
that blazed when she was angry. I had already caught the heat from
those eyes once. "I'm Chris Demeret," I said and waited for a reaction.
"Harriet Cisco," she answered. Nothing else. No big eyes or gaping
jaws. Not surprising. Ozzies are known for who they become, not for who
they are. But I'm always hoping.
"They call you Harry?" I asked. And got roasted by the gray eyes again.
"Only when they don't want to see me again," she said. "And I'm late
for class now. Thanks for the wine, and I guess I won't sue you for
knocking me down. Goodbye."
"Wait," I said as she started to her feet. "I'm in town for a couple of
days. Maybe ..."
"Have a great time," she called as she walked out the door. Great. So
much for that. Boy meets girl. Boy flattens girl. Girl walks out of
boy's life.
"Hey," I yelled to the bartender. "More wine!"
* * *
"Hey, idiot," I yelled into the microphone, "get your fat butt out of her."
The mc just stood there like a fool. I swung my arm and watched as
Janis swung in simpatico on the stage. Her fist went through the mc's
face.
"Listen carefully," I said into the mike. "You introduce her, and then
run off stage right. Stage right! Pin a note to your shirt if you can't
remember. She'll be coming in stage left. If you go through her
tonight, you'll be dealing with a real fist." The mc looked up to the
glassed-in Ozzie heaven where I was standing. "Why all this stupid run
in, run out stuff?" he shouted. "Why can't you turn it on right here
like everyone else?"
I'd been using the loudspeaker mike, but now I flipped on Janis' voice.
"Look at me," she screamed in those unique, whiskey-strained tones.
"Look at me when you're talking about me! There's nothing up there
except a dude pulling strings. I'm Janis Joplin, can you dig it? I've
sold this place out for two nights. And they're going to want it as
real as I can deliver when they see me. They don't want some jerk
ruining the dream in the first minute. We do it right or I walk."
He turned away muttering something about Ozzies, but I let it pass. I
turned off Janis' voice, wearily sank down in the control seat and
looked at the chancery parchment Traci had given me years ago taped up
on one of the walls. "PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN!"
it blazed out in crimson letters.
The scene in Ozzie heaven resembled a cross between a video control
booth and a sound stage, an exact replica of the real stage below me
complete with dummy microphones and the band's equipment. I had spent
the last few hours taking measurements and taping markers to the floor.
A lot of work to get things right, and all too easy to ruin by someone
who couldn't tell left from right.
Turning on the loudspeaker again, I said in my own voice, "Let's try it
one more time."
The emcee finally stumbled through the introduction and exited
off-stage without problems. I pressed the hand button on my remote,
launched the band into Half Moon and raced out to my floor microphone.
Janis paralleled my actions down below. The front and sides of my booth
developed into hoolie projections of the stage and empty hall. I/Janis
grabbed the mike, swung our heads down and I quickly squeezed the hand
control again. Tonight, those who knew what to look for would see
Janis' hand close and know I was letting the song sequence run on
automatic. But the illusion would hold for most of my audience.
I brought the little MOC on line and let it take over Janis' program.
Her digitalized voice, indistinguishable from the real Joplin's, howled
through my booth like an electric banshee.
I checked the MOC's readouts and idly scratched at the receptors pasted
on my body. The band looked fine. It seemed I had cured the lead
guitarist's bug. During my New York show, he had started to project
six inches off the stage floor. In spite of my frantic scrambling with
the controls, he levitated nearly 10 feet off the ground for the rest
of the show. I'd been horrified, but the New York audience, all LSD
revival crazies, had loved it.
Time for the band solo down below, and time for me to show what
separated Ozzies from MOCs. I took over control from my MOC and went
into Janis as she began her, "hey, hey HEY!" lead-in for the guitars.
Janis and I whirled together, flying on the wild wind of the music. The
hoolie musicians came dancing toward us, right on program. But Janis
and I were free, no moves predictable, as the MOC picked up my mad
dance and replicated it in Janis. I grabbed up a real tambourine.
Janis in turn reached for her holo. We leaped into a gypsy rhythm,
spinning around the band like dervishes. The projections in Ozzie
heaven tracked Janis' perspective as we raced around the stage. And I
saw the stage hands grinning out from the wings, clapping along with
the band's boogie.
Rocking. The illusion complete, I had them caught up in the show as
well as Janis herself ever had.
We circled back to the mike stand. What the hell, I thought, might as
well give them everything. Keying out the MOC altogether, I took the
song home myself. My crow's voice audible to me alone in Ozzie heaven,
coming out beautiful in Janis below. The guitars slowly faded into the
ticking of the drums, and we ended, both slumped over our microphones.
Then I looked up in surprise as the applause floated in over the
speakers. Harriet was standing in front of the stage with someone else.
* * *
"The reality behind the dream," Harriet's companion said as I led them
into Ozzie heaven.
"I guess that's how you could look at it," I replied stuffily. My
pleasure in having Harriet appear was tempered by my annoyance at being
caught so wound up in the act. "I like to think it's realer down there
when I'm doing it right."
"Chris, it was great," Harriet said. "It was like she was really here.
The dance looked so unrehearsed. Almost like it wasn't a computer
program at all."
Oh boy. "Let's make a deal," I said. "I won't call you Harry and you
won't tell me that six years of work almost didn't look like a computer
program. O.K.?"
Her features seemed to change again and she looked about nine years
old. "I'm sorry. I was just trying to tell you I thought it was
fantastic programming. I didn't mean to make you angry. I've seen
people run MOCs before, but never ..."
"Damn it," I exploded. "I'm not a MOC programmer. I'm a performance
artist who uses MOCs as a tool. I'm an Ozzie."
"And a great one," Harriet's friend interjected.
"Yeah, thanks." I started plucking the receptors off my skin. "Do you
have a name?"
"That's Mike," Harriet answered for him. "We go to school together. He
wanted to come along when I told him I was going to try to see you again."
"Beautiful equipment," Mike said as he stroked my little MOC's
keyboard. "I'm working on my MOC degree, but I've never seen anything
rigged like this."
"Custom job. Mostly my own work." Maybe Mike thought he was stroking me
too, but I'm not a techie and I don't like people who like MOCs. I
built and maintain the hardware because that's the only way I can make
sure Janis will run properly.
"Chris, I'm so stupid," Harriet blurted out. "I was all the way back to
the campus before I realized who you were. Mike must have told me about
you a million times. He says you're the best Ozzie in the world. I just
wanted to apologize for the way I treated you. And I really do think
you're a great artist."
"Forget it." I finished peeling off the receptor paste, and was about
to ask her out for another drink when the loudspeaker blared.
"If you're set with the sound check, Demeret, can we get back to work?"
I flipped on the loudspeaker toggle and answered, "It sounded fine.
Bring down the lights a little tonight. I could see through the band
hoolies. Except for that we're all set. I'll be back at seven for the show."
"Are you going back to the Sheldon, Chris?" Harriet asked. "They've got
a nice bar there. Maybe I could pay you back for the drink?"
An alarm was ringing insistently in the back of my head, but those gray
eyes were boring into mine. Ozzies, especially male Ozzies doing female
roles, seldom get what were called groupies in Janis' day. But there
are always exceptions. I glanced over at the clock display.
"I've got to do an interview first," I answered. "But we're meeting in
the Sheldon's bar anyway. That should only take about twenty minutes.
Come on along." I looked at Mike. "How about you?"
He was still pawing my little MOC and all but frothing with excitement.
"Do you think I could stay here a little longer and look this over?" he
asked. Normally I wouldn't let the Pope herself near my equipment, but
it seemed to be a good way to be rid of Mike. If he'd rather be with
hardware than Harriet, it was just fine with me.
"If one thing is screwed up when I get back, I'll nail you to a wall,"
I said. "With that in mind, be my guest and take all the time you
want." Like about six hours, Mike, I thought. And then tonight and
tomorrow night too.
Harriet and I walked down from Ozzie heaven and met the producer coming
up the ramp. "Everything right, Demeret?" he asked.
"Give your mc a compass for tonight and everything will be fine," I
answered. And since he was eyeing Harriet, I decided to pull a
superstar trip. "Got a paper and pen?" I asked.
While Harriet was digging through her purse I said, "This is Harriet,
Lou. I want her to have the run of the place while I'm here. Understand?"
"Got it," Lou nodded.
I took the pen and paper and scrawled, She can go where she wants, and
added my signature. "Put your name right under mine, Lou," I said as I
handed him the paper, "and, by the way, there's a guy up in Ozzie
heaven. Leave him alone unless you see him walking off with my MOC."
Lou gave the paper back and I passed it on to Harriet. "There you go,"
I said. "You can't be in heaven while I'm working, but you can get the
view from anywhere else you like. Just flash this if anyone bothers
you."
I got a fast kiss and a nice flash from the gray eyes. Arm in arm, we
walked back to the Sheldon.
* * *
"Where does `Ozzie' come from?"
I tried to resist rolling my eyes and thought about the times I had
been asked the same question. Too many times, I decided as I stirred
the ice in my Jack Daniels. Too many times, in too many bars in too
many cities. And I had seen the same bored look plastered on too many
indifferent faces as reporters plowed through their rote questions. But
publicity kept me working.
"The Wizard of Oz," I answered and tried to manufacture an ingenuous
smile. "A flat screen movie done about 120 years ago. These people went
to find a wizard who turned out to be a little guy running a
projection. Almost like a hoolie. Some joker made the connection and
started calling us Ozzies. The name stuck. Better than being called a
Wizzie, I guess."
My feeble attempt at humor fell flat on the table. I grimaced at
Harriet sitting at the next table and she stuck her tongue out at me. I
was obviously winning my audience over.
"There aren't too many Ozzies left, are there?" the reporter asked.
"We're not exactly dinosaurs," I shot back. "There's the combined
Stones/Who tour. That uses five Ozzies. The Big Rock n' Roll Show is
still going strong with Holly and Berry. I've even heard rumors that
the Beatles are being switched back to Ozzie-run." The last was a lie,
but maybe he wouldn't pick up on it.
He didn't, but the next question was worse. "Still, you're talking
about group acts, where a few Ozzies are running two or three
performers in tandem with MOCs.
Isn't it true that you're the last solo performer now that Traci Walsh
is dead? Doesn't all the controversy about being a solo Ozzie worry you?"
I knew he would ask sooner or later, but that didn't make it feel any
better. I drained my glass before I answered. "First," I said, "if you meet
Jagger's Ozzie I wouldn't tell him you think he's just part of a group ..."
"You're not answering my question," he broke in.
"All right, no, it doesn't bother me," I lied. "There is no proof that
being a solo is dangerous. Traci Walsh's death had nothing to do with
her being an Ozzie. Look, you know I knew Traci. She always drove too
fast. Her antique Cadillac was a nightmare to steer. Traci was goofing
around and had an accident. It could have happened to anyone. The
stories about her flipping out are garbage. I've been an Ozzie for six
years. I do my show five months a year. And I'm in better mental health
than most of the people I see on the street."
But it wasn't enough to make him leave me alone. "You're saying that a
135 mile per hour crash into the real Presley's home was an accident?"
he asked. "No more," I shouted. "That's it. We can talk about my show
or that's it. I've said everything I have to say about Traci."
He sat there fiddling with his microcam and smiling. I hated him for
Traci's sake and for the story I'd see in tomorrow's tapers. Another
example of an Ozzie losing control.
"Another subject, then," he began. "This whole thing about Ozzies
imitating dead performers is rather gruesome, don't you think? And
leading off that question, many experts do believe that identifying
with their roles is dangerous for the performers, whether you
personally agree or not. A MOC could do your show letter perfect right
now without your personal involvement. Most shows are, in fact,
MOC-run. Why not go with the crowd?"
"You're dead wrong," I replied. "And that's not meant to be a joke. I'm
not trying to bring Joplin back to life. I don't identify with her
except in terms of performance. I'm interpreting her and her era.
There's a lot of people who still want to share in the dream even after
it's gone. Do you know that live people used to make good livings from
imitating Presley and the Beatles? Ozzies are their successors, and we
do a hell of a better job. What I find gruesome is that people would
trust a Cronkite hoolie reading the news more than getting it from a
real person."
"But Cronkite is a MOC," he interrupted again.
"And Janis isn't. She needs me to bring her to life! A MOC can't do
that. All the Cronkite MOC does is run a hoolie sitting behind a desk.
So what? That's not performing." "MOCs are capable of handling
performances. You mentioned the Beatles yourself."
I knew that would be back to haunt me. But I was still fighting. "The
Beatles were never a stage act. People don't expect much from their
show except the music itself. Any MOC could handle them.
"But come to my shows and you'll see the difference. The largest MOC in
the world can't handle half of what I do. Every show, every night is
different. I feel what the audience wants and I give it back to them
through Janis. Nobody will ever build a MOC that can do what I do."
"Well, that sounds like a good place to end," he said as he fed a
toothy smile to the microcam. "Go see Chris Demeret's Janis Joplin show
at Winterland II and decide for yourself if he's right. Goodbye and
good news from Walt Blassie."
Blassie's smile switched off with the click of the microcam as he
turned back to me. "O.K., Demeret, fifty dollars for the plug," he said.
"With all the crap you gave me, it should be fifty cents." But I was
already reaching for my wallet. The microcam had recorded the
interview, but Blassie could still stop it from airing. And I needed
the publicity.
"You're stupider than I think if you really believe that," he answered.
"Traci Walsh's suicide is interesting. Ozzies going crazy are
interesting. Walsh is selling more videos now than when she was alive.
Kind of ironic, isn't it? Just like her hero. "What isn't interesting
is talking about how you can outperform a computer," he continued. "I
can get a hundred interviews from the Rust Belt with people saying the
same thing. Nobody believes them and nobody is going to believe you. If
you had any sense you'd use the crazy image rather than fighting it."
"Just make sure the interview gets on the air," I mumbled as I stared
down at the table.
"It will play," said Blassie as he moved away. "No thanks to you. Think
about it, Demeret. Start dressing in drag and work out an interview
act. If it's good, I'd even consider giving you a discount the next
time you're in town."
With Blassie gone, Harriet came back to my table. "You have to pay for
interviews?" she asked as she sat down. "That's awful, Chris."
"That's show biz," I said as I waved for more drinks. "It depends on
the town and who controls the entertainment news. Blassie decides what
gets on the air for his station. And it's the largest in San Francisco.
His station manager could care less whether Blassie interviews me or a
talking dog. No, cancel that. If Blassie found a talking dog, he'd run
it as the lead story. But I'm old news."
"But you sold out your show both nights!"
"Hype. `Sold Out' means anything you want it to mean, and doesn't mean
anything the day after a show. More than half of the tickets are being
run through discount houses. Blassie's station owns one and will run a
promo for it right after my interview. You know, Fanza Productions can
get you in tonight's sold-out Janis Joplin show! Type in your credit
number right now and get your tickets for less than box-office prices!
Blassie will probably get a kick-back on that too. It works out pretty
well for everyone except me. People want to go if they think everybody
else is going. They like it even more if they think they've paid less
than the rest of the crowd. The trouble is the price cut. I'll be lucky
to clear a little over expenses even if I do sell out. Harriet, it
costs a lot to run my show."
"The glamour of Ozzies," said Harriet as she watched me.
"Yeah. The glamour of it all. Listen, I've got a bottle up in my room
and the prices are a lot better than drinking down here. What do you
say about coming up with me?"
She was still watching me. "You've got a show to do," she replied.
"And I've got a lot of time before it starts. Can you think of anything
better to do than drinking?"
"Yes," she answered. "Let's go up to your room."
* * *
It had been a long time since Traci. I never had decided whether we
were more lovers, rivals, or bit-players in a monster movie during our
short, disastrous affair. More the last toward the end, I guess, when
she started to fall apart and I never knew if I'd be dealing with Traci
or the King on any given day. The King wasn't amusing at all,
especially when that nasty ego was packed into a beautiful 14-year-old
who looked like she had stopped playing with dolls only the day before.
The King had finally worn me down and worn me out. And I had canceled
the Nashville performance Traci had talked me into doing with her. And
she had gone by herself. And the day before the show she went for a drive.
I glanced at Harriet, cuddled into my side with her eyes closed.
Someone around Janis' time had written a line about, "if you can't be
with the one you love, then love the one you're with." Good advice for
people on the road. But that kind of sex, and everything leading up to
it, seems to become meaningless seconds after you've finished. Our
performance together had been good, certainly satisfying to me,
apparently satisfying to her.
But performance was the word. We had both acted as if there were a
group of unseen judges with us in the room, silently raising placards
with scores written upon them. 8.5 for technique. 9 for style. 3 for mood.
Harriet murmured and raised herself from the cushion of my arm. "My
God, what time is it, Chris?" she asked.
"You've only been asleep for about twenty minutes," I said. "Listen, I
don't want you to think I'm throwing you out, but I've got to start..."
She was already out of bed and scrambling into her clothes. "I know,
you want to get ready for your show," she finished for me. "That's all
right, I have to go do something anyway. I'm already late." Amazingly,
she was ready to leave. She came back to the bed and gave me a fast
kiss. "That was really nice, love. I'm sorry I have to run. I'll see
you tonight." Then the gray eyes were searching me again. "Chris, do
you really like being an Ozzie?" she asked quickly.
"What brought that up?" I answered. "Like has nothing to do with it.
It's what I do. It's all I've ever done. I don't want to do anything else."
She looked as if she wanted to say something, but then just shook her
head. "It doesn't matter. I just wanted to know. I'll see you tonight."
And she was out the door.
Did I like being an Ozzie? I wondered what Traci would have answered to
that. And I could almost hear her laugh, "What does it matter, Chris?
What other choice have we ever had?"
* * *
The hall was starting to fill up nicely, and I looked out in
satisfaction at a herd of reporters near the stage. It was too late to
hit on me, so it looked like there were still reporters in the City who
weren't on the take. From the number of people I had seen outside even
Blassie's station had done its job. My "sold-out" show might live up to
its reputation.
I headed up to Ozzie heaven and met Lou heading down. "Looks good,
Demeret," he said. "Give them hell." "Good line, Lou," I answered. " I
bet you came up with it all by yourself. Listen, I want the rules
followed. No one on the stage after the show starts and no one allowed
in heaven until it's over. That definitely means the intermission, too.
I don't want to be bothered once I start."
"We'll follow your rules, Demeret," he said. "You know, you're a real
pain in the ass to work with."
"But I'm a star," I said as I started up the stairs. "You take care of
your end, and Janis will take care of the rest."
Heaven looked good. If Mike had done any damage to my equipment, it
wasn't visible. That sort of techie usually treats hardware like gold
anyway, so I hadn't been really worried. I fired up the MOC and started
pasting my receptors back on again. Then I taped the list of songs I
wanted for the night on my console and went to work.
Usually, I let the mc do his intro first and then bring out Janis and
the band. Tonight, I was going to have the band on stage first and let
them work into "Buried Alive in The Blues." When the audience was at
full-tilt, the mc would give the introduction and Janis would charge
out and do the song. I was probably the only one in the hall who would
get the message, but I thought Janis would like having the song she
never finished as her opening number.
I brought down the recorded music, projected the band hoolies
off-stage, and walked them out. There was scattered applause as the
audience spotted them. As I positioned the band I checked behind my
chair to make sure Mike hadn't moved the markers. The last thing I
needed was to have Janis running into the drum set. But everything was
fine. The hall was nearly filled. I decided to give the early audience
a thrill. I started the MOC program on "warm-up, various segments of
music" and watched my band fiddle with their instruments. The audience
cheered as the lead guitarist suddenly ripped into Hendrix's, "Purple
Haze," the ham.
One last thing to do. I hit the red button and the little hoolie popped
up on my console. "So where are we tonight, honey?" she asked as she
took a slug from her miniature bottle of tequila.
"Home, Pearl," I answered. "We're back in the City."
"San Francisco," she cried delightedly. "It's been a long time. Are we
at the Fillmore?"
"Winterland," I said, and didn't bother to add the Roman numeral. It
wouldn't have meant anything to her anyway.
"Just as good," she answered. "Although I would have liked to give
Graham some shit. Well, it'll be a good crowd. They always are in San
Francisco. Are we starting soon?"
"In a few minutes."
Pearl looked around Ozzie heaven and then back at me. "This sure is
weird. Tell me again. I'm dead but you stuffed me in a computer
somehow. And now it's almost 100 years later and I'm not really real
but you and I put on shows together." "That's about right," I agreed.
She laughed up at me. "I don't know about you, but I feel real. And
that's all that matters to me. Let's go out and show these dudes what
rocking is all about."
I hit the button and Pearl winked out. "You're right," I said. "Let's
do it."
I hit the "Ready" switch to let the stage manager know it was time and
keyed the band into "Buried Alive." The crowd began roaring as they
realized the show was beginning. I started hyperventilating as I rose
from my seat and prepared for Janis' entrance. I heard the mc shouting,
"And now ladies and gentlemen, Winterland II presents to you -- JANIS
JOPLIN!!!" Then everything crashed.
The music stopped as suddenly as if the power had been cut. Racing to
the window, I saw all the hoolies wavering. One by one the band flicked out.
"Mike!" I roared as I scrambled back to my MOC. "What the hell has he
done?" Nothing on the box was responding. I had a half-ton, million
dollar paperweight on my hands. Then, as if this were only a senseless
nightmare, I saw Harriet walking out on the stage below me.
"We are the Living Artists Symbiotic Collective," Harriet announced
into the microphone. "We have taken this action to dramatize the
differences between live performers and dead machines. Machines can be
stopped with a turn of a switch. Nothing can stop real art."
"Rather than paying to see a recreation of the dead past, you should be
looking to the future," she continued as booing began to erupt from the
audience. "We are ready ..."
But whatever she was ready for was lost as a security guard finally
appeared and hustled her off-stage.
* * *
I was watching Pearl dance on the console when Harriet and Mike walked
in. Mike was able to interpret the look on my face. "I'll wait outside,
Harriet," he said.
"I thought you were in jail," I said to Harriet as I turned back to Pearl.
"Bail," she answered and dropped a piece of paper in my lap. "We talked
to Lou. He's dropping the charges. That's a check for the damages to
your MOC, plus the loss you took for tonight. Mike's father is rich. Of
course, you can still have us prosecuted if you want."
"The Sheldon," I said, ignoring the check. "You knew where I was
staying. You let me run into you on purpose. How long have you been
setting me up?"
"It wasn't necessarily going to be you, Chris," she answered. "It was
the act that was important, not which Ozzie we did it to. You just
happened to be here at the right time."
I whirled in my chair to face her. "Now I'm supposed to ask, why? What
was the point, damn it?"
"My thesis," she said. "It's on the 60s, as I told you, but I'm doing
an analysis of classic radical protest. I needed a live test to compare
audience reactions between then and now."
"You're telling me that all this," I looked down at the empty theatre,
"all this, was for a term paper?"
"A thesis," she said again. "A lot more important than a term paper.
And I needed the publicity to get a job. There's only a few places I
can go and I need to stand above the crowd."
She reached down and took my face between her hands. "And you needed
the publicity, too. We haven't hurt you. With that," she waved to the
check I had let fall to the floor, "and with the publicity we've given
you you're in better shape than ever. This place will be packed
tomorrow. There's always curiosity seekers after a protest."
I didn't say anything. She looked into my eyes for a long moment and
then sighed and turned away. "I can understand," she said. "It was a
lousy trick. Chris, the other ..."
She hesitated and then began again, "Going up to your room, that wasn't
planned. I knew Mike should have finished by the time the interview
was over. I know it doesn't mean much to you, but I'm sorry."
She turned away. As she reached the door I said, "You kept reminding me
of someone. I finally figured out who it was."
She turned back to me and said, "Who?"
I just kept looking at her. "If it's either one, thank you," she said.
"Goodbye, Chris."
The door closed. Pearl whirled off the console and dropped into my open
palm. She began a new dance. I sat, a king in his heaven, and watched.
"Just you and me, babe," I whispered. "Just you and me."
* * *
OtherRealms is Copyright 1986
by Chuq Von Rospach
All Rights Reserved
One time rights have been acquired from the contributors. All rights
are hereby assigned to the contributors.
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individual article in any way on any media is forbidden without permission.
OtherRealms is published monthly, except for December, by:
Chuq Von Rospach
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Publishers: Review Copies should be sent to this address for consideration.
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[****] Hugo Nominee quality
[***] Average book, recommended
[**] Somewhat flawed, has its moments
[*] Not recommended
[] Avoid at all costs
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source text file
Issue 11 — December 1986
Issue 11, Part 1, December 1986
OtherRealms
A Reviewzine for the Non-Fan
Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life
Issue #11
December, 1986
Part 1
Novels of the Diadem
Alan Wexelblat
Always Coming Home
Dan'l Danehy-Oakes
Letters to OtherRealms
The Broken Worlds
Danny Low
Flamesong
Brett Slocum
OtherRealms Notes
Books Received
Part 2
Pico Reviews
Part 3
Words of Wizdom
Chuq Von Rospach
Two Views of the Hugo
Conspiracy? What Conspiracy?
Dan'l Danehy-Oakes
What's Wrong with the Hugo?
Chuq Von Rospach
Novels of the Diademi
by Jo Clayton
Reviewed by Alan Wexelblat
Copyright 1986 by Alan Wexelblat
ARPA: WEX@MCC.ARPA
UUCP: ut-sally!im4u!milano!wex
DIADEM FROM THE STARS 235pp, (c) 1977 [***+]
LAMARCHOS 224pp, (c) 1978 [***]
IRSUD 191pp, (c) 1978 [***]
MAEVE 220pp, (c) 1979 [***]
STAR HUNTERS 207pp, (c) 1980 [**+]
THE NOWHERE HUNT 208pp, (c) 1981 [*]
GHOSTHUNT 221pp, (c) 1983 [**]
THE SNARES OF IBEX 320pp, (c) 1984 [**+]
These eight books tell part of the tale of Aleytys, a half-breed member
of a semi-mythical super-race called the Vryhh. Although they could
probably be read independently, the significance of much of the theme
elements would be lost.
The stories are what I call soft SF in that they use psionics, magic,
and other non-hard elements, but are not sword-and-sorcery or any other
fantasy genre.
Jo Clayton has a real talent for description and detail. She writes
from a decidedly female perspective. Her feel for story is there, but
it often gets lost in the description she piles on. Daw did her a real
disservice by not assigning a tough editor to her manuscripts. The
quality of the stories varies widely. None of them are truly great, and
one is downright awful. Some of her characters are good; the problem is
that she seems to create her characters from about eight stock types.
Over the course of the books, this becomes a real problem, as the minor
characters from one story blend into those of another.
In addition, she has the annoying habit of using lots of alien words as
part of the scene-setting, and expecting the reader to figure out what
is going on. I find this annoying, as it detracts from the flow of the
story. In general though, Clayton's alien societies are pretty good and
shouldn't need this sort of cheap trick.
The first book, DIADEM FROM THE STARS, starts off with a Clayton
narrative favorite: the story is being told from the point of view of
someone other than Aleytys. The other person sets the scene, often by
outright exposition, and then we switch to Aleytys' point of view. In
this case, we follow a thief on his quest to steal the RMoahl diadem
and escape with it. He does, but fails in the escape attempt, crashing
on the primitive world of Jaydugar, where Aleytys lives in her father's
household. Her mother, once slave to her father, has escaped. Before
leaving, she wrote a letter describing herself, hinting about the
Vryhh, and telling her daughter how she can be found.
Aleytys, faced with the prospect of being burned as a witch (she has
some psionic powers, apparently inherited from her mother), runs away.
The rest of the book tells her story as she treks across her world,
meeting the thief, Miks Stavver, and getting the diadem. The diadem, it
seems, is a permanent gift because once put on, it doesn't come off
while the wearer is alive. However, it does greatly enhance her
powers.
DIADEM is the best of the books. Aleytys whines a bit too much, but the
story is interesting, as are the secondary characters. There are
several encounters with different cultures on Jaydugar, and Aleytys
really seems too mature.
LAMARCHOS is the name of the world where Aleytys goes after Jaydugar,
and the book tells the story of her trek across that world. There is a
strong druidic theme to the story, as part of Aleytys' new powers allow
her to work in concert with Nature on the planet. Unfortunately, Nature
demands some services in return for its aid.
From the readers point of view, Clayton works these out into
interesting plot twists as the characters move toward their goal.
Aleytys' character continues to mature, and her powers increase as she
learns more about the diadem.
This book is not quite as good as the first. Clayton is inconsistent
with Aleytys; she is mature, intelligent, and sophisticated when
dealing with the natives of Lamarchos, but naive and annoyingly
dim-witted when dealing with her off-world companions. Clayton needs
this in order to advance the plot, and that's a shame. She could have
achieved better results with a little more care.
IRSUD is the name of the world where Aleytys is brought as a slave to
be a host-body for the egg of the queen of an insectoid race. The egg
will hatch inside her and the new queen will absorb Aleytys' powers,
which have been suppressed with a psi-damping implant.
The plot is much simpler than the first two books, involving no
world-spanning treks. This is Clayton's first attempt at writing
intrigue. As with much of her work, it's all right but Clayton attempts
to write intrigue with exposition, describing in great detail how
everyone looks and how Aleytys feels. This weakens the impact
considerably in some places. Also, the aliens of Irsud are far too
human for my liking. What makes this book as good as it is is Clayton's
advancement of the meta-plot. The diadem has inhabitants, people who
wore it before and died with it still on. Their minds, personalities
and talents are still available to the diadem's current wearer. Once
again, I don't want to spoil the plot, but I took a great joy in
watching Aleytys grow in power.
MAEVE is the next world Aleytys travels to. Here is a book with several
good plot ideas, none of which are really well developed. The RMoahl
want "their" diadem back, Aleytys wants to help the natives of Maeve
(and Nature) against the ravages of the Companies (inter-planetary
mega-conglomerates), and the local machinations are endless. Clayton
weaves these threads together into a nice picture, but it ends up
looking forced. The theme also advances slowly, but enough to be
satisfying. The minor characters are also interesting.
STAR HUNTERS uses the other narrator trick to set the scene, and it's a
mighty confusing one. Aleytys has joined an organization known as the
Hunters, who perform special missions for hire. She is sent to
Sunguralingu to stop the ravages of a psionically-endowed villain known
as the Haremaster. Clayton appears to have grown bored with Aleytys at
this point; she spends much of the book on secondary characters,
switching viewpoints all over the place. The main story is barely
novella length, and most of the padding is dull. The only saving grace
is the climactic confrontation between Aleytys and the Haremaster;
unfortunately, even that has a weak ending.
THE NOWHERE HUNT should have been titled the Nowhere Book. It's a
terrible story that goes nowhere, and goes there at a snails pace.
Clayton has dropped the druidic overtones of the earlier books and
spends more than half the book on minor characters, most of whom we are
glad to see die. Aleytys doesn't grow at all, and the minor characters
seem repetitive. I would say skip this book entirely, except that the
theme is advanced in two important aspects so grit your teeth and bear it.
GHOSTHUNT is a vast improvement on NOWHERE, but it is still a weak
book. Clayton attempts a detective story here which doesn't work well
with her exposition. This book is much more cerebral than her others.
However, her switches in viewpoint are less annoying this time because
some of the other narrators are familiar and likable characters. Thus,
even though we know where the book is going, it's still fairly
enjoyable. Several of the loose ends from earlier books are tied up
here, and not too badly. Once again, the aliens are very human-like and
the minor characters look like ones from previous books, but the style
is more interesting and the characters motives are more moving. The
year layoff after NOWHERE definitely helped.
THE SNARES OF IBEX is a truly annoying novel in the sense that someone
should have edited out some obviously extraneous material. Why didn't
Daw? The story seems very unbalanced. About 90% of the books 320 pages
are used to describe half the journey that Aleytys undertakes. Ibex,
you see, is the world where her mother has left a means of contact. But
the only person on Ibex who knows how to access that data is missing
and must be tracked down.
Knowing all this in advance, the reader is led to expect a lot more
than Clayton delivers. At one point she falls into the pattern of
having characters tell each other stories. It's a change from Clayton's
usuall exposition, but not a good one. What makes this a good book is
its promise. If Clayton writes another, she will have some really
interesting material to work with.
Reading over these reviews, you might wonder why I read the books if I
felt so negative about them. It's hard to explain. There's so much
potential that I couldn't wait to see what Clayton would make of it.
Get these books used if you can; I don't think they're worth the cover price.
ALWAYS COMING HOME
by Ursula K. LeGuin
[*****]
Reviewed by
Dan'l Danehy-Oakes
Copyright 1986 by Dan'l Danehy-Oakes
UUCP: ptsfd!djo
There's a story about LeGuin's multiple-award-winning novel THE
DISPOSSESSED; I think it's relevant. She said once that, the founders
of the Odonian society knew that humans must have some harmless outlet
for their competitive instincts. Therefore they began the custom of
having every permanent settlement make pickles. These pickles became
the source of civic pride for each town; there was a pickle barrel set
up in the center of town, and persons from out-of-town were invited to
sample the local pickle and judge its superiority for themselves. For
whatever reason, this facet of the Odonian culture never made it into
THE DISPOSSESSED.
ALWAYS COMING HOME is chock-full of pickle barrels.
Another way of looking at this book: suppose that, instead of THE LORD
OF THE RINGS, J.R.R. Tolkien had published a vast miscellany of Elvish,
Dwarvish, and Gondorish poems and lore, mingled with tracts on their
social institutions; then suppose that he had mingled in with this
book, broken up into pieces, the story of Bilbo's journey -- and, as a
footnote to the last part, a brief summary (in the form of official
Gondorian documents) of the War of the Ring.
Somewhere between those two ideas you will find ALWAYS COMING HOME.
It is a book for those who revel in Tolkien's appendices. (I freely
admit that I am such a person.) Broken into three parts is the only
"novel" part of the book, the tale of Stone Telling, a woman who goes
"there and back again." Her journey is very different from Bilbo's, but
it bears a more than passing resemblance to those of Shevek and Genly Ai.
Let me explain that last comment. Shevek, Genly, and the occasional
protagonist of ACH begin in a country which the author seems to
"approve" of, move across barriers to one which the author seems to
"disapprove" of -- in each case, one which is bureaucratic and
oppressive -- and returns to the place where he/she began, sadder and
wiser. (I think my biggest problem with LeGuin, at this point, is
simply that she too easily divides her societies into "the peaceful
country" and "the warlike country" -- a surprisingly dualistic attitude
for an author of LeGuin's blatantly Taoist leanings.) In each case, the
protagonist comes at a time when he/she has some small influence on a
major change that is already occurring in the relationship between the
two countries.
ALWAYS COMING HOME is about the Kesh, a people who "might be going to
have lived" in the Napa valley of Northern California some very long
time from now. An unspecified event or series of events which may or
may not have been an atomic war has separated humanity from technology.
(I do not mean that technology has been destroyed, but to say more
would be to destroy one of th book's most pleasant surprises.) The Kesh
are a people of whom I -- and, I believe, the author -- can approve of
heartily while not in any way wishing to be one: their lifestyle is NOT
for me.
In the aforementioned tracts, poetry, lore, and so forth, LeGuin paints
a surprisingly holographic picture of the entire Kesh culture.
The book is told as if it were the report of an twentieth-century
archaeologist who has done her field work by living among the Kesh for
a time, learning their ways and taping their ceremonies. (Accompanying
the paperback of ACH -- but NOT the hardback -- is a cassette tape,
"Music and Poetry of the Kesh," a group of "in the field" recordings
which allow us to actually hear the language of the Kesh pronounced and
sung. It is a significant part of the book's overall impact and I
highly recommend NOT buying the hardback for this reason.) The various
documents from this fieldwork include, but are not limited to,
discussions of Kesh "religion" (not what we mean by religion), technology,
food, language, trading, warmaking, medicine, and much else; they include
samples of Kesh drama, poetry, literary prose, and mapmaking.
ALWAYS COMING HOME is one of the most complete books I have ever
encountered. It is an exhausting book to read, and I do not recommend
it as a "good read." It is hard work, but, if you enjoy the work of
reading, it repays the work amply.
Letters To OtherRealms
Dear Chuq.
I'll bet your friends call you "Up-Chuq".
You evince an inability to figure wordage, a wrongheaded perspective on
historical or scientific extrapolation, an intolerance of the tastes of
others, a tendency to condemn what you do not understand, and a desire
to censor according to your own limited horizins. In short, you have
the makings of a typical literary critic. You might consider confining
yourself in future to fantasy of your level, such as the works of Lin Carter.
I may quote from your comments on my work in the Author's Note for
Incarnations #6, which I am now writing. You have no need to read
material that distresses you, of course.
Piers Anthony
Inverness, Florida
The Broken Worlds
by Raymond Harris
[****]
Ace Science Fiction 1986 248pp $2.95
Reviewed by
Danny Low
Copyright 1986 by Danny Low
UUCP: hplabs!hpccc!dlow
This book starts out as a simple tale of intrigue, becomes a journey of
wonders and ends with a gigantic space battle with a deus ex machina
ending. You are warned of the ending towards the middle of the book.
Despite the rambling nature of the plot, the events are logically tied
together.
The story does move along at a leisurely pace, but it manages to avoid
boredom. The history of the universe has the complex feel of reality.
The culture appears to be your basic Western culture with a few exotic
oddities thrown in to give a suggestion of alieness. However, it
becomes evident that the culture is truly different and the
"westerness" is only the echo of our present day culture.
The characterization is quite good. Harris has a good feel for
RealPolitik. The relationship between the various interstellar states
has verisimilitude. In many ways, this book is a collection of hoary
science fiction cliches done with just the right amount of originality
to succeed while still being recognizable as cliches.
If Harris is to be compared with an established SF writer, then that
writer would be Jack Vance. Harris' characters do not all speak with
the same baroque style of a Vancian book, but there is that same
richness in the background culture. This is definitely a worthwhile
book to read.
Flamesong
by M.A.R. Barker
[*****]
DAW Books, Sept. 1985, $3.50, pp. 412.
Reviewed by
Brett Slocum
ARPA: Slocum@HI-MULTICS.ARPA
Copyright 1986 by Brett Slocum
M.A.R. Barker is one of those writers who has created the perfect
combination of fantasy and science fiction. His world of Tekumel is a
delightfully rich tapestry unlike any other. The depth of detail rivals
or surpasses Middle Earth, Darkover, or Arrakis. While basically
fantasy, elements of technology are not far under the surface,
sometimes quite literally. Technology exists in the form of artifacts
of the Ancients, whose knowledge has been lost many tens of millenia ago.
Barker draws from East Indian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, and
MesoAmerican sources, rather than European, and his societies are
reminescent of Imperial China or Mayan civilizations. This is not your
run-of-the-mill medieval fantasy story that so many new authors write.
A quality of strangeness is inherent.
In Flamesong, his second book (Man of Gold is his first), Barker tells
of the adventures of a young military officer's attempts to bring an
enemy commander home as a prisoner, while dealing with a strange form
of Ancient transport, magic, a country that still believes itself part
of an empire that fell twenty thousand years ago, and numerous other
problems that impede his progress.
Barker writes about adventure and intrigue, palace plots and pitched
battles, magic and technology. I especially enjoy the way he describes
technological artifacts in non- technological terms, as the characters
would see it. This book has complex characters with real motivations,
unusual often bizarre cultures, and a story that won't let you put it
down. (I read this substantial book in two days, and I work full time.)
Barker is a linguist as Tolkien was, and it shows. Each country has
its own language, customs, naming conventions, etc. (e.g. At one point,
the characters are trying to figure out the nationality of a stranger
from just a name.) For those of you who are unwilling to handle unusual
names and words -- beware, this book is full of them.
Barker has been involved with the Role-playing games industry almost as
long as Gary Gygax and Dungeons & Dragons. A role-playing game called
The Empire of the Petal Throne based on Tekumel, has been available
since 1975-6, and recently a new game called Swords and Glory has been
published. Swords and Glory was written and playtested by Barker and
his two weekly gaming groups. The sourcebook which describes Tekumel is
several hundred pages long and so full of detail that it is mind-boggling.
In conclusion, I would strongly recommend Flamesong and the earlier Man
of Gold for anyone looking for unusual settings and cultures, realistic
characters, and exciting plots.
Lead miniatures for wargaming are available as well as a bi-monthly
newsletter both produced by Tekumel Games, a company that deals
exclusively with Tekumel products. If you are interested in the
roleplaying aspects of Tekumel, contact:
Tekumel Games
Box 14630
University Station
Minneapolis MN 55414
Dungeons & Dragons is a trademark of TSR, Inc.
OtherRealms Notes
Please remember that this is the final OtherRealms of 1986. I'll see
you all back in January with a new year of reviews and comments on the
worlds of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror.
The Lettercol is back dept.: Readers should note that the lettercol
has returned, and I hope that it will be again a permanent home for the
alternative viewpoint. If we got it wrong, if we missed something, or
if you simply have something to say, drop a note to the OtherRealms lettercol.
Things to come dept.: Next year will continue to see changes to
OtherRealms. First and foremost, I expect to start using a Laserwriter
in in 1987, giving me a much cleaner final look. This will also allow
me to put more material in the same number of pages, so the amount of
material will increase for the same final cost.
I'm also going to start a series of new review columns by people who
have been involved with OtherRealms for a while. The hope is to make a
wider range of viewpoints available. The details of these and other
changes will be in #12.
Books Received
Books Received lists books sent to OtherRealms for review. OtherRealms
tries to list books around the time they are shipped to bookstores, so
these books are (or soon will be) in distribution.
Avon Science Fiction
Anthony, Piers. Macroscope, 1969, 480 pages, $4.50. A good work
brought back into print.
Shulman, J. Neil. The Rainbow Cadenza, 1983, 366 pages, $3.50
Leigh, Stephen. The Bones of God, 1986, 289 pages, $3.50.
Baen Books
Scott, Melissa. Silence in Solitude, 1986, 313 pages, $2.95. Sequel
to Five-Twelths of Heaven.
Bantam Books
Auel, Jean M. The Mammoth Hunters, December, 1986, 723 pages, $4.95.
Third book in the Earth's Children series, 2,000,000 copy first
printing.
Flint, Kenneth C. Storm Shield, 1986, 310 pages, $3.50. Sequel to
Challenge of the Clans.
Fowler, Karen Joy. Artificial Things, 1986, 218 pages, $2.95. First
collection of the short stories that won her the Campbell award for
best new writer.
Hill, Douglas. Colsec Rebellion, 1986, 161 pages, $2.75. Final book
in Colsec Trilogy (previous volumes were Exiles of Colsec and The Caves
of Klydor). Tor Fantasy
Fenn, Lionel. Blood River Down, 1986, 310 pages, $2.95.
Paxson, Diana L. Silverhair the Wanderer, 310 pages, 1986, $2.95. the
new Westria novel.
Pini, Richard, Asprin, Robert, and Abbey, Lynn. Elfquest Volume 1: The
Blood of Ten Chiefs, 314 pages, 1986, $6.95 trade paperback. Shared
world anthology based on Elfquest.
Tarr, Judith. The Golden Horn, 1985, 262 pages, $2.95. Volume 2 of
the Hound and the Falcon Trilogy.
Tor Fiction
Benford, Gregory. Artifact, 533 pages, 1985, $3.95.
O'Donnell, Peter. Modesty Blaise: The Silver Mistress, 1973, 284
pages, $3.50. First paperback release (and first in a series) about
the female answer to James Bond.
Rogers, Mark E. More Adventures of Samurai Cat, 1986, 127 pages, $9.95
large trade paperback. 8 1/2 x 11 format, lots of drawings. Not quite
a graphic novel. Attempts to parody everything.
Westlake, Donald E. A Likely Story, 1984, 317 pages, $3.95.
Tor Horror
Bloch, Robert. Night-World, 252 pages, 1972, $3.50. First Tor
printing.
Grant, Charles L. The Orchard, 287 pages, 1986, $3.95.
Neiderman, Andrew. Love Child, 1986, 319 pages, $3.95.
O'Callaghan, Maxine. The Bogeyman, 1986, 320 pags, $3.95.
Relling, William Jr. Brujo, 338 pages, 1986, $3.95.
Simmons, Dan. Song of Kali, 1985, 311 pages, $3.95. Just won the World
Fantasy Award.
Tor Science Fiction
Anderson, Poul. Time Wars, 1986, 374 pages, $3.50. Time Travel/War
them anthology.
Anthony, Piers and Margroff, Robert E. The E.S.P. Worm, 1970, 191
pages, $2.95.
Dickson, Gordon R. Alien Art, 1973, 184 pages, $2.95. First Tor
printing.
Douglas, Carole Nelson. Probe, 383 pages, 1985, $3.50.
Farmer, Philip Jose. The Cache, 1981, 292 pages, $2.95. Third Tor
printing.
Kelly, James Patrick & Kessel, John. Freedom Beach, 259 pages1986,
$2.95.
Kornbluth, C. M. Not This August, 1955, 255 pages, $2.95. Revised and
new forward by Frederik Pohl.
Murphy, Pat. The Falling Woman, November, 1986, 287 pages, $14.95
hardcover
Saberhagen, Fred. The Berserker Throne, 319 pages, 1985, $3.50.
Silverberg, Robert. Across A Billion Years, 1969, 249 pages, $2.95.
Wolfe, Gene. Free Live Free, 1984, 403 pages, $3.95.
OtherRealms is Copyright 1986
by Chuq Von Rospach
All rights reserved
One time rights have been acquired from the contributors. All rights
are hereby assigned to the contributors.
Reproduction rights: OtherRealms may be reproduced only for
non-commercial uses. Re-use, reproduction or reprinting of an
individual article in any way on any media, is forbidden without
permission.
source text file
Issue 11, Part 2, December 1986
OtherRealms
A Reviewzine for the Non-Fan
Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life
Issue #11
December, 1986
Part 2
Pico Reviews
AN ALIEN HEAT by Michael Moorcock []
Harper SF, SFBC, 1972
Volume 1 of the "Dancers at the End of Time Trilogy," Moorcock attempts
to write about a dead, decadent society at the end of the Universe.
Immortal, any wish possible, with not a care in the world, a small
group of hopelessly adolescent brats attempt to party their way to
eternity. Rather than being about decadence, I found the work decadent
itself, and gave up halfway through. The companion volumes, "THE
HOLLOW LANDS" and "THE END OF ALL SONGS" were left unread. I just
don't seem to tolerate Moorcock's writing for some reason.
-- chuq von rospach
THE ARCHITECT OF SLEEP, by Steven R. Boyett [****]
Ace Fantasy, 290 pages, $2.95.
Alternate universe stories are common enough, but imagine, if you will,
a world populated by sentient racoons -- racoons who can't talk, but
have a rich and expressive sign language. Then imagine the plight of a
human who's mysteriously transported to that world, displayed as an
animal, etc. Add in powerful emotions, twisty court politics, and
believable characters (even if they are racoons, and possibly -- as a
friend of mine would describe them -- humans in zipper suits), and you
have a wonderful book. The only problem is that ARCHITECT is just the
first book of two or three -- and they *don't* tell you that. Nor do
they tell you when the next book is coming out, for which I seriously
fault the publisher.
-- Steven Bellovin
ulysses!smb
ARIEL, by Steven R. Boyett [***]
Ace Fantasy, 325 pages, $2.95.
On the strength of THE ARCHITECT OF SLEEP, I picked up ARIEL, Boyett's
first novel. It's okay, though nothing special. The writing, and the
predictability of the plot, are very characteristic of first novels
(and it's amazing how much Boyett has improved by his second novel).
The book is a typical post-Apocalypse novel (i.e., lots of scenes of
character scavenging the stores from Before); this time, though, the
change is that technology has suddenly stopped working, in favor of --
you guessed it -- magic. The title character is a unicorn, who (of
course) will only associate with virgins; this time, thankfully, we
have a male virgin. Rate this book [**] if you're not willing to give
brownie points for a reasonable first effort by a new author.
(Translation: the book does have many strong sections, but doesn't
hang together as a whole.)
-- Steven Bellovin
ulysses!smb
THE BOOK OF THE THOUSAND NIGHTS AND A NIGHT: A Plain and Literal
Translation of the Arabian Nights Entertainments
Translated by Richard F. Burton; Privately printed by The
Burton Club; $55; 10 Volumes
Any lover of fantasy should not be satisfied until they have read this.
Almost everyone has heard about the tales of Shahrazad but few have
actually read them. Most books only contain a few of the tales, and
these are usually censored greatly. The actual Burton translation is
10 volumes, including 6 extra volumes of additional tales. These have
it all! Great magic, mighty wizards and Djinni (Jinn), crafty heroes,
quests, betrayed lovers! The wealth of material here is astounding,
both for the fantasy within it, but also the insight into the
beginnings of arabian culture. Be warned that this is not for the
prudish! Burton translates the stories literally and he leaves in all
the parts which are removed from the childrens' edition you read when
young. You will probably have to mail order this. Mine was a gift
costing about $55, but I believe it has been released in a cheaper
edition lately.
-- John R. Mellby
jmellby%ti-eg@csnet-relay
THE COPPER CROWN by Patricia Kennealy [****+]
Signet, $3.50
Over a thousand years ago, Celts for whom Western Europe was no longer
a home settled on a number of planets [collectively Keltia] discovered
by St. Brendan the Astrogator. Over a thousand years from now an
expedition from Earth contacts them. The contact triggers a local
sword-and-spaceship war. This book is fun to read. Kennealy is of the
school of writers who paint their characters larger than life and spend
a lot of time describing what they wear. The science is very soft, but
she does a creditable job of describing a fusion of traditional Celtic
values and modern technology without ever descending to travelogue.
(And -- thank heaven -- she provides a usable pronunciation guide!) I'm
looking forward to the sequel[s].
--Dani Zweig
haste@andrew.cmu.edu
THE CUNNINGHAM EQUATIONS by G.C. Edmondson and C.M. Kotlan [****-]
Del Rey, $2.95, 1986, 295 pages
This is mystery, with our Nobel prize winning drunken protagonist
trying to find out what a gene-splicing company is doing, and why the
they are hiding it. At a deeper level, it's a lecture on the evils of
loosing untested technology on the public. The writing is very good,
except for the occasional slips into lecturing on the technology. For
many, a worse flaw will be that this is a VERY depressing novel.
*SPOILER WARNING* All the characters - which you know and
like/dislike/detest - die or will soon be dead by the end of the book.
-- Mike Meyer
mwm@berkeley.edu
DINNER AT DEVIANT'S PALACE by Tim Powers [**]
Ace Science Fiction, 1985, $2.95
DINNER is a grittily realistic view of post-Bomb Los Angeles. Powers
writes a strong story about a society on the edge, supported by
decadence, drugs, and the hyper-Fundamentalist Jaybush cult, a
combination Reverend Moon, Jim Jones, and Crystal Cathedral.
Unfortunately, Powers lost me when he moved the story towards the
extraterrestrial alien evil influence, but the book will probably work
for most people who follow Gibson and the Cyberpunk people.
-- chuq von rospach
ENGINES OF CREATIONS by K. Eric Drexler [****]
Doubleday, $17.95, 1986, 298 pages
Space Systems scientist Drexler extrapolates developments in the
molecule building and expounds a method for defining the limits and
potentials of any future development in any science. Non-fiction, but
a must-read for SF authors and would be SF authors.
-- Ray Farraday Nelson
THE FORGOTTEN BEASTS OF ELD by Patricia McKillip [*****]
Like her Starbearer trilogy, this is a work rich in legend and lore
with significant development of the main characters, and good insights
into human nature without lessoning or lecturing. A basic Name-based
magical world with knights, magicians, and the fantastic beasts of
legend, all woven together with language and descriptions appropriate
to the story and the setting. It follows a white haired witch raised
in the solitary silences and power of magic through her discoveries of
love, hate, revenge, fear, and self-knowledge. A very well crafted
work that is one of my favorites.
-- Phyllis Li
li@uw-vlsi.arpa
FORTUNE OF FEAR by L. Ron Hubbard [*****]
Bridge, $18.95, 1986, 365 pages
Ron Hubbard, by his own admission, learned from Jack London the way to
combine profound philosophical concepts and non-stop action adventure.
In FORTUNE OF FEAR Hubbard continues the ten-book "Mission Earth"
series. Where the over-rated Asimov turns the whole galaxy into a
Manhattan Island, Hubbard finds in Manhattan Island a whole seemingling
infinite galaxy. Almost unheard of in the SF ghetto is his still more
amazing feat; he starts out funny... and stays that way!
-- Ray Farraday Nelson
THE GAME OF FOX AND LION by Robert R. Chase [****+]
Del Rey
A very good intricate-political-games-during-wartime novel. This book
is *very* well done, and kept me turning pages, as well as thinking.
It does one of my favorite themes (the superman theme... the main
character has artificially enhanced intelligence), but with less
sophomoric concentration on the flash-and-dazzle, and more on serious
human consequences of the imagined situation. Background material is
sometimes a little clumsily inserted, but never implausibly. And, as I
say, it kept me flipping pages and thinking, things that don't normally
happen for me together in a book.
-- Wayne Throop
dg_rtp!throopw
THE HEIRS OF BABYLON by Glen Cook [***]
Signet, 1972, $.95, 192 pp.
The bombs were dropped decades ago. The US and USSR are no more. What
is left of the world's population is engaged in ritual world war. Once
every 10 years the call goes out to each region to patch together the
creaking remnants of the old naval fleets and set out for the
Gathering. Will this be the last time? Why must we continue to fight?
This is an early foreshadowing of Cook's gift for bringing characters
to life, from the naive young fisherman turned navigator to the aging
and sinister political officer charged with maintaining their zeal for
war. A rather depressing story, as many post-holocaust stories are,
but told with skill and imagination.
-- Kirk Webb
HER MAJESTY'S WIZARD by Chrisopher Stasheff [**]
Del Rey, $3.50
A university student is transported to a medieval world where magic
works. His knowledge of poetry and technology make him an unbeatable
wizard. The gimmick has been done to death (best by Platt and de Camp)
and is not redeemed here by good handling. One interesting aspect of
the world in question is that not only does magic work, but many other
aspects of the medieval world view hold true, such as the divine right
of kings. This book does not particularly resemble the Warlock books
by the same author.
-- Dani Zweig
haste@andrew.cmu.edu
MATADORA by Steve Perry [***+]
A wonderfully written, fast-paced action story with brains, a
conscience, and character. I read this book first, and found out about
the trilogy at the end. After buying and reading the other books I
found this one to be far more to my tastes than the other two, rare in
a second, transition book of a trilogy; but, Drisha, the black, lady
martial artist, steals the show with her steadfast inclinations for
survival and sheer dimensionality. Almost all of the other characters
pale in comparison, and my only motivation to get through the other two
were for incidents of her. I enjoyed the philosophy of the Maradors in
this book much more than in either of the somewhat heavy handed
presentations of that philosophy in the other two books. Perhaps the
bias towards this book is that I could identify a lot more with an
independent, survival motivated protagonist than one who is in it
because of a Vision. In any case, not a deep book, but it is fun.
-- Phyllis Li
li@uw-vlsi.arpa
A MATTER OF TIME by Glen Cook [**]
Ace, 1985, $2.95, 268 pp.
This book is just a gritty detective novel with the villains being time
travellers from the future. I say "just" because the main characters
never rise above their drab caricatures and grab your interest. The
hero is hopelessly outclassed by the clever villains through the entire
book. As he often tells his companions, it's not the brilliance of
Sherlock Holmes, it's just dogged detective work. A disappointment
from Cook, usually a master of characterization.
-- Kirk Webb
THE MEMORY OF WHITENESS, by Kim Stanley Robinson [***]
TOR, 351 pages, $3.50.
MEMORY is rather disappointing. It takes effort to read the book
(which is not at all bad, but don't expect to breeze through it before
bedtime one night), but doesn't reward the effort. It portrays music
as a universal means of communication -- everyone in the societies is
far more musically literate than almost anyone today -- but spends most
its time on music as a metaphor for physics, and from it life, the
universe, and everything. But the central theme is ultimately
mystical, and I have little feel for other people's mysticisms. Worse
yet, since the music and the mysticism are the major forces acting on
the characters, I found it difficult to understand why they acted as
they did. He does introduce one sparkling concept: metadrama, which
consists of players interacting with random, unknowing people, trying
to steer their actions into a desired course.
-- Steven Bellovin
ulysses!smb
MOONFLASH by Patricia McKillip [**]
A disappointment, it seems an attempt by a fantasy author to give a
science fiction explanation to a fantasy society. Scientifically
consistant the book has none of the richness in character development
that I have come to expect from McKillip's works. The protagonists are
likable, but barely two-dimensional; practically all the scientists are
only one-dimentional; and the premise for the societys of the world is
only a single point flash. It can be read through, but I took four
days to finish it, a real rarity for someone that almost always
finishes books in a single sitting.
-- Phyllis Li
li@uw-vlsi.arpa
NOTES TO A SCIENCE FICTION WRITER: THE SECRETS OF WRITING SCIENCE
FICTION THAT SELLS by Ben Bova, [****]
Houghton Mifflin tradeback, 1981, $5.95, 193 pages.
This book is basic intro to writing SF that uses an interesting format.
The book is divided into four parts: Character, Background, Conflict,
and Plot. Each section has a Theory chapter, a example short story,
and a Practice chapter that discusses how the story uses the principles
of the Theory chapter. These are Bova's own story and the book is
almost worth it just for the stories. Nothing fancy, just good simple
SF. This book is a good one for the beginning writer who wants to write
SF The expert will enjoy the stories.
-- Brett Slocum
PASSAGE AT ARMS by Glen Cook [***]
Questar, 1985, $2.95, 265 pp.
Just as an old time space opera was a typical western novel with
sixguns transformed to blasters and horses traded for spaceships, this
future war yarn must have started life as a World War II U-boat novel.
The sheer inventiveness of the translation into space is captivating.
If you can't find Lothar-Gunther Buchheim's The Boat (Das Boot), this
book is a good substitute. It is a tension-packed voyage accompanied
by fear and misery as you watch the crew slowly disintegrate under the
pressure of the inhuman living conditions, the menacing enemy ships and
the indifference of high command. Claustrophobes and weak stomachs
beware!
-- Kirk Webb
REALITY MATIX by John Dalmas [****]
Baen Books, 310 pages, $2.95.
I'm not normally fond of "psi" books, even when the paranormal powers
are wrapped in a scientific cloak, but I'll make an exception for this
one. (If you're wondering why I bought it, it's because the cover and
blurb make no mention of psi, probably with malice aforethought.)
There are themes drawn from Heinlein's "Year of the Jackpot" (with
explicit acknowledgement), and some vague similarity to some of
Chalker's works, but on the whole we have an original, fun book. Be
warned, though -- this book may call for not just suspension of
disbelief, but suspension of distaste. But give it a try.
-- Steven Bellovin
ulysses!smb
SOULSTORM by Chet Williamson [**]
Tor Horror, 1986, $3.95
One of the recent titles in Tor's new Horror line, Williamson writes
well but puts together such a hodgepodge of classic Horror kitsch that
the book collapses into itself like the House of Usher. We meet the
rich man, impotent and dying of cancer; his pretty wife, and three
mercenary down-and-outs, offered a million dollars apiece to spend 30
days in a haunted house with the rich man, who hopes to sacrifice them
to the evil beings in return for immortality. It doesn't work, of
course, as the evil beings have their own ideas. The book doesn't
work, either, but if Williamson can find his own Horror voice instead
of kludging together from everyone else he'll be a name to reckon with.
-- chuq von rospach
SPIDER PLAY, by Lee Killough [**]
Questar, 232 pages, $3.50.
More adventures of Janna Brill and Mama Maxwell, law enforcement
officers extraordinaire. Unlike DOPPELGANGER GAMBIT, there's
(understandably) less attention paid to detailing the culture. Too
bad, because it was a fascinating culture indeed. And the clash of
honor and instinct versus police regulation doesn't carry any weight
this time around. I have to score this one a miss -- too bad, because
DOPPENGANGER GAMBIT was Killough's best work.
-- Steven Bellovin
ulysses!smb
THE SPIRAL DANCE by Starhawk [*****]
Harper & Row, 1979, trade paperback, $10.95
A book that details the practice, ritual, and meaning of Witchcraft in
modern society. A thorough examination of Goddess worship from the
ground up. A wonderful reference work, a good introduction into the
world of Wicca.
-- chuq von rospach
THE SWORDBEARER by Glen Cook [****]
Timescape, 1982, $2.75, 239pp.
From a smorgasbord of unoriginal plot devices, Glen Cook has produced
an exciting well-crafted fantasy adventure. With the demon sword that
drinks souls, the silent but stout-hearted dwarf companion, the evil
undead warriors on their winged dragon mounts and the naive young hero
unaware of the growing feelings of the beautiful princess, you just
know you're in for a boring Shannara lookalike! But Cook lets you look
inside each of these characters, from the ambitious emperor to the
undead warriors and brings their hopes and fears, joy and despair to
life and makes you care about each one. While the final outcome is
never in doubt, you will enjoy every step of the way! -- Kirk Webb
TERROR, by Fredrik Pohl [**]
Berkley Science Fiction, 220 pages, $2.95.
I expect better of Pohl. Although superficially an exploitation book
about terrorism, it's actually somewhat broader in theme. Pohl is
interested in military/political evil. To do this, he paints all sides
-- terrorists, the U.S. government, the Soviet government, assorted
other governments (in cameo roles) -- in short, just about everyone --
as evil. You get at most a cursory set of motivations for why the
different folks act evilly (except for the Hawaiian nationalists -- is
there such a movement?), but Pohl is so interested in speaking ill that
he never explores the larger questions the book raises (or could raise,
to be more precise). I'm thinking of questions like these: is
violence ever moral? is a pre-emptive strike ever moral? Are all
governments really on the same moral plane? Call the book preaching,
and not very good preaching at that.
-- Steven Bellovin
ulysses!smb
TOM O'BEDLAM by Robert Silverberg [***]
Donald I. Fine, Inc., ISBN 0-917657-31-4, 320 pp., $16.95
In a future California ravaged by refugees from the Dust War, roving
bands of outlaws, and the excesses of the past, poor, crazy Tom
transmits his visions of a wondrous intergalactic civilization to those
around him. But are the aliens the saviors of mankind, or is Tom
merely hallucinating them? Silverberg juxiposes his characters' vivid
dreams of better worlds with the reality of their decaying civilization
to great effect. The characters are well-drawn and believable. I
could sympathize with them all, no matter how disagreeably they
behaved. Recommended.
--Roger Goun
goun%cadlac.DEC@decwrl.ARPA
TWISTING THE ROPE by R.A. MacAvoy [***]
Bantam, $3.50
A disappointing sequel to Tea With the Black Dragon. A man is killed
and everyone who knew him turns out to have had motive means and
opportunity. Generic murder mystery number 17. The charm of TWtBD
resided largely in the characters of its protagonists--especially the
Dragon. In this book we know that Long is the Black Dragon only
because we have read the prequel. We know that he is extraordinary
only because we are told that he is. The third star is partly for
highly competent writing and partly for the pleasure of meeting old
friends. If you haven't read TWtBD, or didn't enjoy it, don't read this
book.
--Dani Zweig
haste@andrew.cmu.edu
THE VAMPIRE LESTAT by Anne Rice [*****]
Ballantine, $4.50, 1986, 552 pages
From Clark Ashton Smith to Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, the California School
of Horror has specialized in the rational exploration of the irrational
realms of the supernatural. Now San Francisco Novelist Anne Rice
writes the best book yet in this tradition. Instead of lurking
offstage, as in DRACULA, the vampire becomes not only the protagonist,
but the narrator, and he heads us into the deepest exploration yet of
the dark continent of the Living Dead.
-- Ray Farraday Nelson
THE WARLOCK IS MISSING by Christopher Stasheff [***]
While the Warlock is Wandering, all the baddies on Gramarye emerge to
take advantage of his absence. Unfortunately for the baddies, and
fortunately for the reader, the Warlock's four children have grown old
enough to be interesting and formidable characters themselves. (They
are powerful, but they are still children. They make a number of bad
misjudgements that will come back to haunt them.) Readers of the
Warlock series will not be disappointed. Those who haven't read the
excellent Warlock in Spite of Himself should read it and then the
adequate King Kobold Revived -- and be warned that the many sequels
tend to resemble the latter book.
--Dani Zweig
haste@andrew.cmu.edu
THE WARRIOR'S APPRENTICE, by Lois McMaster Bujold [***]
Baen Books, 315 pages, $2.95.
THE WARRIOR'S APPRENTICE is a sequel (or, more properly, a follow-up)
to SHARDS OF HONOR. Unlike the earlier work -- a powerful study of
cultural clashes and strong emotions -- this one follows a young man as
he stumbles and gropes his way to adulthood. Part of the book is comic
-- I rarely laugh out loud while reading, but I did here -- and part of
it is fairly gory, as if Bujold couldn't decide what she wanted to do.
The strict codes of Barrayar come into play, of course, but it isn't
clear that they make much sense to anyone who hasn't read SHARDS OF
HONOR. Still, a pleasant few hours.
-- Steven Bellovin
ulysses!smb
WARRIOR WOMAN by Marion Zimmer Bradley [*]
Great premise, bad writing. Bradley gives a classic example of how not
to use the first person. The book feels cramped by the severe
limitations she puts on communication of the story through her
protagonist. The idea of a woman warrior is fascinating to me and the
premise that she gives for the existence of that woman on the planet is
great, the only reasons that I gave this book a single star; however,
she does not use the premise for anything other than a deus ex machina
to drop the heroine in and out of the story. There is also a great
amount of preaching done. A very disappointing work from a lady that
has done such wonderful writing.
-- Phyllis Li
li@uw-vlsi.arpa
YARROW by Charles de Lint [***+]
A fantasy writer whose inspirations come from her [true?] dreams of
another realm is victimized by a psychic vampire who feeds on dreams.
The story is almost entirely based in Ottawa, with little of the
folklore/fantasy element which the author handles so effectively. One
senses that the author is deliberately trying to develop new skills.
His success will be well worth waiting for. In Yarrow, though, he is
writing to his weaknesses. Most of his characters are shallow. (This
is not a problem with the mythical or mythologized characters he is
used to portraying, because we know so much about them the moment we
encounter them.) His parasite, too, is a dull thing, but his portrayal
of the pain of being deprived of dreams is powerful.
--Dani Zweig
haste@andrew.cmu.edu
OtherRealms is Copyright 1986
by Chuq Von Rospach
All rights reserved
One time rights have been acquired from the contributors. All rights
are hereby assigned to the contributors.
Reproduction rights: OtherRealms may be reproduced only for
non-commercial uses. Re-use, reproduction or reprinting of an
individual article in any way on any media, is forbidden without
permission.
source text file
Issue 11, Part 3, December 1986
OtherRealms
A Reviewzine for the Non-Fan
Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life
Issue #11
December, 1986
Part 3
Words of Wizdom
Reviews
by
Chuq Von Rospach
Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach
The best Fantasy of the year should be hitting the bookstores as you
read this. Pat Murphy's THE FALLING WOMAN (Tor hardcover, November,
1986, $14.95) is the best thing I've read in a year of very strong
offerings. Elizabeth Butler is an archaeologist working on a Mayan dig
in Mexico. She also sees ghosts, the shadows of the dead that live in
the ruins she is investigating.
This is primarily a psychological Fantasy, but is enriched with a
strong sense of Mayan background, history, and folklore. Elizabeth's
long estranged daughter, Diane, joins the dig after her fathers death
trying to find herself. She can, like her mother, see shadows but
doesn't understand the ability. The story revolves around the two of
them trying to come to grips with themselves, with each other, and with
a train of events that a long dead Mayan priestess weaves around them
in an attempt to bring back the slumbering God's of her time.
The real selling points of the book are the characterizations and mood
that Murphy evokes. She builds an emotional tension just short of that
found in the horror genre, drags you in and gets you involved. The people,
even the minor characters, are fully fleshed individuals, not the
stereotypes or caricatures found all too often in books these days.
She makes you care, puts you on the edge of your seat, and doesn't let
you go until the end of the story. If there is any justice, this is
next years World Fantasy Award winner, and the people who vote Nebula's
need to take a close look at this work. I can't recommend it highly
enough. If you like substance in your reading, authors like Wolfe
or LeGuin or Wilhelm, this is the book for you. [*****]
* * *
THE LEGACY OF LEHR (Walker and Company, 235 pages, $15.95) is the new
book by Katherine Kurtz. It is the first in a new series of books
being packaged by Byron Preiss called Millennium, where each book will
deal with a major them of Science Fiction. LEHR is primarily a locked
room murder mystery set on a space ship. A luxury space liner is
diverted to a backwater planet to pick up an emergency cargo -- four
bright blue, telepathic, noisy lions destined for the Emperor.
Shortly, people start dying, their throats ripped out, a small amount
of bright blue fur gripped in their dying grasp. The lions have been
under full guard the whole time, but it is obvious that somehow they're
getting out of their cage, walking through the ship, killing people,
and getting back in -- past cameras, guards and locked doors -- all
without being seen. Or is something else going on?
Kurtz takes the story seriously enough to make it work, but with enough
camp to keep it from getting overbearing. She throws in strange aliens
(including one set whose main religious devil is a bright green, telepathic,
noisy lion), vampires, religious fanatics, native rituals and all sorts
of other strange concepts without making you feel like she's playing
games with the reader. When it all comes down to it, this book is
well written and an enjoyable read. Preiss seems to have a winner
with this new series, and I'm looking forward to future books. [****]
* * *
Last month's Books Received had a number of titles from a small press
called Space and Time. The small press is an area that tends to get
overlooked by most readers, and if THE SPY WHO DRANK BLOOD by publisher
Gordon Linzner (Space and Time, 1984, 127 pages, $5.95 trade paperback
from 138 West 70th Street (4B) New York, 10023-4432) is any indication
of the quality of the field, much to the readers disadvantage.
Frankly, my initial thought was to say something like "this book is
good enough to be published by a major house" but that implies that the
small press publishes lesser quality books, which isn't true. There
ARE areas where the small press is little more than a vanity press, but
in many occasions the books are works that slip through the less
flexible publishing standards of the major houses.
SPY is a good example. Like all Space and Time works, it is
cross-genre, combining Science Fiction, Mystery, and Horror into a
single work. Immediately, this gives a major house heartburn -- how do
you market something that doesn't fit into the genre cleanly? The
small press doesn't have to worry about that, fortunately.
Linzner writes a story about Blood, a secret agent who happens to be a
vampire. In between assignments, he is literally kept on ice, being
kept frozen cryogenically until he is needed to keep his drinking
habits under control. Unlike human beings, cryogenic freezing doesn't
kill him, it just makes him thirsty and allows him to survive daylight
(to Linzner's credit, the only modification to the vampire folklore he
allowed himself).
His keeper's daughter is abducted in the Everglades by a band of insane
radical terrorists. The first agent who goes in doesn't come back out,
so he turns to Blood. Blood travels down there, finds the girl and the
group, and then watches as the group gets decimated by something even
worse...
Be aware that Blood is pretty ruthless, and that Linzner is not afraid
to write him that way. Forgiving or merciful he's not. It isn't
particularly graphic, gory, or gruesome, but it can be intense.
I liked it, a lot. I think most people would, if they could find it.
Small press books don't get into many bookstores, so you'll have to
search for them, or order directly from the publisher. I think it's
worth it. The small press field is a relatively new area for me, but
after Space and Time I hope to be reading and reviewing more in the
future from the alternative publishing houses. [****]
* * *
If you're looking for Horror, a lot of people are starting to publish
it. If you're looking for GOOD Horror, though, look at Graham
Masterson. Where Steven King writes very personal, real life Horror
books, Masterson write the more traditional "things are going to pop
out and chew on your hand for a while" kind. It is very different from
King's works, but as good in his own way. His latest, DEATH TRANCE
(Tor Horror, September, 1986, 409 pages, $3.95) is a good example. He
mixes the mystique of the Hindu death trance (where adepts can actually
walk among the dead and talk to them -- something very few priests can
accomplish and survive) with modern societal horrors in such a way that
it all flows together and crawls up your spine.
The president of an independent cottonseed oil refinery company has a
plant burned. His family is brutally massacred. It is obvious that
the rival Cottonseed Oil association (who just lost a major contract to
him) is involved somehow, but why stoop to inhumane torture and murder?
While recovering from the shock of his loss, he is told of the death
trance, and decides he has to say good-bye to his family before he can
start his life again. So, off to Java he goes in search of an adept,
taking along a few people (some good, some uninvited and not so good).
The horror of everyday life -- the torture, the slimy business
dealings, corruption, and inhumanity -- counterpoints the death trance
and the fantastical horrors found beyond, and makes it acceptable.
Everything falls together, and everything ties together in the end. The
book isn't explicit or graphic. It doesn't need to be, as Masterson is
a superb writer that generates pictures in your mind better than
anything that could be put on a page. Pictures, mind you, that will
take time to go away -- the mark of a good Horror writer.
I find horror a wonderful change of pace from an overdose of Fantasy.
No Unicorns, no dwarves, no cute little elves and their pointy little
ears. The basis between the two genres are very similar, but horror
twists things into the realm of darkness instead of light. If you
haven't tried to read horror, you should. This book is as good as
place to start as any I've seen in a while (anything by King is, too).
Be sure you have a nightlight, though. You might need it. [****]
* * *
Imagine, for a second, that a living fossil is discovered. A real,
live, breathing member of the long extinct species Homo Habilis. Our
forefather. What do you think would happen?
You were right. He'd get married and have a kid and be a successful
artist.
That's the premise of ANCIENT OF DAYS, from author Michael Bishop.
Bishop starts with 100 pages of the best Hard SF I've read since BLOOD
MUSIC, but my overworked sense of disbelief threw me out of the book
when he got overly cute and started playing games. I could accept Homo
Habilis. I could even accept how he got into rural Georgia. I could
even accept him being adopted by a lonely (but beautiful) woman artist
who wants to protect him from the world.
But, with the Klan and the Government and the Black Radicals and
everyone with a Cause breathing down her neck, the two go out and get
secretly married. Okay, I can believe that, sort of. Nobody finds out
about it. (my disbelief is creaking). WE find out about it when the
Immigration people come to arrest him as an illegal alien so that the
anthropologists can get their hands on him.
Uh, the government didn't know they were married? Right. Even less
plausible, once the marriage is shown to be legal, everyone goes off
and leaves them alone? Can you REALLY believe that all the
anthropologists in the world are going to be nice and wonderful and not
try to take midnight urine samples and make themselves into royal
pests? Well....
Even if you could buy an entire arm of academia acting like rational
human beings over the Rosetta Stone of ancient humanity, Bishop takes
your disbelief one step further, as Adam (the obvious name) learns to
drive and sits around in the evening reading C.S. Lewis, PILGRIM'S
PROGRESS, the Koran, and other similar kiddie books.
That pop you heard was my disbelief snapping. One of the physiological
traits of Homo Habilis is the lack of pre-frontal lobes. Bishop has
just postulated a pre-humanoid species with an I.Q. and cognitive
powers greater than most of humanity, but without enough brain power to
handle it. Now, maybe you can get past the absurdity of a glorified
chimpanzee reading the collected works of human philosophy, but I
couldn't. Bishop should have played Adam straight. He didn't, which
successfully ruined whatever Bishop was trying to say with this book.
The story is too convenient, and he strays too far from the realm of
possibility for a hard SF work. Too bad, I wanted the book to work for
me. Not recommended [*]
* * *
Signet is the latest publisher to develop a shared world anthology
similar to the very popular THIEVES' WORLD series. If you like these
kinds of books, you'll really like BORDERTOWN created and edited by
Terri Windling and Mark Alan Arnold (Signet, 251 page, $2.95). It is
set in Bordertown, an enclave of humanity and elves in the netherlands
between our world and Fairie, where both technology and magic work.
Sort of.
It is a lot closer to Ace's LIAVEK series than it is THIEVES' WORLD.
This shouldn't be surprising, because the lead story (and the best in
the book) is DANCELAND by Emma Bull and Will Shetterly, creators of
LIAVEK. It is completely separate from LIAVEK, though, but like that
series avoids the dreary depression endemic to THIEVES' WORLD. Three
of the four stories are winners, and the worst (MOCKERY by Ellen Kushner
and Bellamy Bach) still rates a solid so-so on the interest meter, so
the book as a whole is pretty solid. If you like the concept of punk
elves, you'll love BORDERTOWN. The cover, by British artist Phil Hale,
is, if not the best cover of the year, certainly the most distinctive.
I hope other publishers take a close look at it, at the covers they're
doing. It IS amazing how much more attractive a book that stands out
on the racks can be. I hope this one sells well. [****]
* * *
THE POSTMAN by David Brin was a 1986 Hugo nominee for Best Novel.
Bantam has just released it in paperback (321 pages, $3.95) so everyone
who hasn't read it yet can find out what they're missing. It's a very
good work, and a big change from the kind of novels Brin has written in
the past. It isn't SF as much as it is folklore, as Brin spins the
tale of a post-holocaust survivor who steals the jacket from a long
dead postal worker and finds himself spinning the stories of a rebuilt
United States. THE POSTMAN stands with Johnny Appleseed, Paul Bunyan,
and the other larger than life figures that tell the stories of our
country. Through rain or sleet or fallout, the mail will go through,
and with it, hope. [*****]
* * *
Michael Perrin, the boy turned man in the worlds of the Sidhe, has
returned in the sequel to Greg Bear's wonderful INFINITY CONCERTO. THE
SERPENT MAGE (Berkley books, 343 pages, $3.50) carries on the story as
the Sidhe and all of the inhabitants of the other realm start migrating
to our world. Greg Bear is one of the few writers today who can handle
any flavor of the genre from Hard SF (BLOOD MUSIC) to straight Fantasy.
This is another fine book from a fine author. Highly recommended. [*****]
* * *
John Varley has always been a writer whose strength is in the shorter
works. His latest collection is BLUE CHAMPAGNE (Berkley books, 290
pages, $2.95) and includes "Press Enter []", his award winning short
story as well as seven other works. Some of the works, such as
"Lollipop and the Tar Baby" will probably be familiar to Varley
readers, but many of these have been collected from relatively small
distribution publications. This collection also contains what I think
is the best Varley story ever in the title work, which was originally
published in NEW VOICES, an anthology series most people have probably
never heard of -- the price of admission is worth this gem alone. The
weakest story of the bunch, believe it or not, is "Press Enter []",
which I found to be a very powerful story the first time I read it, but
re-reading it was a disappointment, there doesn't seem to be the imagery
or staying power I'd expected. Still, a good book from a master. [****]
* * *
When Gene Wolfe was writing the Book of the New Sun series, Locus
magazine accidentally used the title THE CASTLE OF THE OTTER for one of
the books. Wolfe liked the title enough that he wrote a book for it.
The result, originally published by the small press Zeising Brothers,
is now available through the Science Fiction Book Club. It is a small,
113 page book in which Wolfe discusses the writing of the series, the
background, history, flavor and etymology that went into the classic
series of books. Many authors, when they try this, end up sounding
egotistical and self-indulgent. Wolfe carefully peels away the skin
and bone, layer by layer bringing to light the mental processes inside
a writers skull. It is a definite must for any writer or prospective
writer, and anyone with an interest in the series or in what goes on
behind the series should take the time to track this book down. It is
of limited enough interest that I doubt it will show up on the mass
market, so if you don't belong to the SFBC, find a friend who is and
order it. [****]
* * *
Sometimes I wonder if Baen Books is self-destructive or if someone
simply put a curse on them. Earlier this year they upset the
bookstores with an abortive Book Club. So far, every book from them
I've reviewed I've panned (for example, the HEROES IN HELL series
ripoff of THIEVES' WORLD). Now, I've found a good book, but it is so
poorly packaged and mismarketed that I doubt it will have a chance of
selling well. It is beginning to look like they can't win.
The book in question is ZOBOA by author Martin Caidin. Caidin is a
solid author with credits such as MAROONED, THE MESSIAH STONE, and THE
FINAL COUNTDOWN. Here he's written a very good action adventure SF
Thriller with a topical subject. In a few days, a multi-national crew
will be taking a space shuttle into orbit in front of a large crowd of
dignitaries from around the world. Unfortunately, four nuclear bombs
have been hijacked by a radical Arab death squad -- the target, the
shuttle and dignitaries. Nine days to get the bombs back from a group
of suicidal maniacs happy to take millions with them, or risk a major
international disaster.
This is a very well written book, with one proviso. It was not really
written as a Science Fiction book, but as a mainstream adventure. The
women jiggle, and when they're wearing anything it is tight fitting.
The men cuss a lot, as Real Men are wont to do. The action is fast
paced, moving along at a breakneck speed. This book could sell very
well nestled into the mainstream lists next to Lawrence Sanders.
Unfortunately, it has the Science Fiction label attached prominently,
so the mainstreamers (who don't realize they're reading SF when they
read Sanders...) won't touch it. And I think the mainstream aspects
of the writing will turn off a lot of genre readers. This book has
Best Seller written all over it if someone had just marketed it right.
Unfortunately...
We come to the second problem. The cover, by David Mattingly, is
painted in colors that can only be described as putrid purples and
pinks. It shows a shuttle blasting from the launch pad, surrounded by
fighter planes and troops in combat gear. And the cover blurb says
"This time it wouldn't be an accident." Now, it is obvious that this
book was in preparation long before the shuttle accident early this
year. There is a place in the book where the people who died in that
accident are acknowledged briefly. Caidin looks like he tried hard to
keep the book from capitalizing on our country's loss while
acknowledging it. The cover blurb, though, is thoughtless, tactless,
and in very poor taste. I found myself simultaneously revolted,
insulted and outraged that someone could take the shuttle accident and
try to turn it into a marketing tool.
If it wasn't for that blurb, I could recommend the book with
reservations about the mainstream slant of the writing. As it stands,
unless they re-do the cover and re-issue the book, I won't. That
someone at Baen can be so thoughtless, and that nobody else caught it
before it shipped, is inexcusable. If you DO buy this book, I suggest
you take the cover and mail it back to Baen and tell them what you
think about it. I hope Caidin had a few choice words about how they
treated this book -- I certainly would have. [*]
* * *
SONG OF KALI by Dan Simmons (Tor Horror, November 1986, 311 pages,
$3.95) is another example of Tor's dominance in the growing horror
field. It recently won the World Fantasy Award (we can argue about why
a horror title should win a Fantasy award some other time) and the
award is well deserved. Robert Luczak, his wife and infant daughter
travel to the city of Calcutta in search of a new manuscript from an
Indian poet thought dead. What they find is horror, the horror of
man's inhumanity to man, the horror of the squalor of the human cesspool
that is Calcutta. Simmons uses Calcutta, the Indian culture and a brush
with the death cults that worship the Goddess Kali as examples of larger
problems. There is no happy ending in KALI, but the slighest ray of
hope peeks through the clouds of despair. Highly recommended. [****+]
Two Views of the Hugo
The following articles are not Copyrighted, and have been placed into
the public domain to make it as easy as possible to reproduce and pass
around. Feel free to copy and distribute these articles to anyone you
feel would be interested.
E-mail: chuq@sun.COM, djo@ptsfd.UUCP
[In issue 9, I plugged the 1987 Worldcon and suggested that everyone
should get involved in choosing the Hugos. The Hugo is the most
visible award given in Science Fiction, and carries weight with the
press, with the publishers, and with the general buying public.
As you might guess, my suggestion to get involved or get out started a
few discussions. It's continuing with the next few pages, where Dan'l
Danehy-Oakes looks at what is wrong with the Hugo award today, and I
take a few potshots from the battlements at what I think would make it
better. I want to try to revive the lettercol in the next couple of
issues, and I can't think of a better topic: these are the opening
comments, but I want to know what you think of the Hugo as well, and
I'll make sure the best of the comments get passed along in OtherRealms.
The Hugo isn't perfect, by any means. But it IS important, so ignoring
it isn't the answer. Lets see if we can make it better, instead.]
CONSPIRACY? WHAT CONSPIRACY?
by
Dan'l Danehy-Oakes
A while ago Chuq suggested that you all "Join the Conspiracy" --
purchase a supporting membership in the upcoming Worldcons so you could
vote for the Hugos. I would like to suggest that the last thing the
Hugo award needs is more people voting in its selection.
Now, I realize that you are a person of excellent taste and fine
sensibilities; that you are of refined and sophisticated critical
judgement; otherwise you would not be reading such an estimable and
excellent publication as OtherRealms. But does mere good taste and
critical judgement qualify one to vote for the Hugo awards? Ideally,
no. I'll explain that in a moment, but first...
In fact, there is only one qualification currently enforced if one is
to vote for the Hugo awards, and that is a financial qualification.
You must be able to pay for at least a supporting membership in the
World Science Fiction Association, the official name of the
Convention's membership.
This means that to vote for the Hugo, you don't even have to read the
books and stories nominated.
Think about that for a minute. Then think about this. In 1978, at the
IguanaCon (the World Science Fiction Convention held in Phoenix that
year), a small group of individuals buttonholed a rather larger group
of attendees, and asked them whether they had voted for that year's
novel Hugo; and if they had, how many of the nominees they had actually
read prior to voting.
Of those who had voted, less than 40% had read all the nominated books.
Try this logic. The number of people who have read a book is
proportional to the number of people who bought it. There is no reason
to believe that this is less true within the population who vote for
Hugos than outside it. The only substantial difference that can
reasonably be expected between the Hugo- voters and the non-Hugo voters
is a greater likelihood to buy and read hard- cover SF.
The greater a book's advance publicity budget and/or the greater the
author's reputation based on her PREVIOUS books, the greater the sales
of a book will be.
Hypothesis: Nobody votes for a book she hasn't read for the Hugo, over
a book she has read, unless she -really- hated the one she read.
(At this point, some Nimrod is jumping up and down, saying, "But being
a best-seller doesn't mean a book is bad!" BINGO! Best-sellerdom
doesn't mean a book is ANYTHING It means the publisher spent bucks, or
the author has a reputation. But DelRey Books spent big bucks pushing
THE SWORD OF SHA-NA-NA, and a man with a real big reputation once wrote
something called FARNHAM'S FREEHOLD. Neither of the principal
contributors to best-sellerdom is a reliable mark of quality.)
Given these likelihoods and facts, a books advance publicity budget and
the author's prior reputation have an unwarrantedly high degree of
influence on who wins the Hugo.
What can be done?
In an ideal world, the Hugo might work like this. There would be two
ballots for the general membership of the convention. The first would
allow them to nominate the books and stories which would end up on the
final list. The top five (or three, or seventeen) of each category
would be that year's nominees. The second public ballot would be a
slate of persons each of whom had agreed to read all the nominees
before voting. The general membership would select who, from that
list, they wished to represent them in selecting the winners of the
Hugos. Perhaps a system of "weighting" their votes based on their
support from the general membership might be adopted.
At any rate, this would ensure that only people who had taken the
trouble to become qualified to vote, by reading the nominees, would
make the selection.
In the real world, of course, such a plan would never be accepted. "It
ain't democratic." Well... neither is writing talent. Some people
have it; some don't. Democracy may not be the best way for judging an
inherently UNdemocratic phenomenon.
In the real world, there is only one thing that can be done. And only
you can do it. If you are going to vote for the Hugos, read the
nominees. Otherwise, you may help keep the best book from winning.
If you can't make a commitment to read all the nominees... stay away
from the ballots. Because the last thing the Hugo award needs is more
uninformed voters.
What's wrong with the Hugo?
by Chuq Von Rospach
Dan'l's article notwithstanding, I don't really think there is anything
significant wrong with the Hugos. They do just what they are designed
to do: show the world what the membership of the annual Worldcon
thinks are the best in the genre for that year.
Perceptions, on the other hand...
The big problem is that the general public thinks that the membership
of a Worldcon represents the readership of Science Fiction as a whole.
Wrong. Because of this, there is a lot of breastbeating every year
because people feel that the Hugos don't represent them.
Most of these people, of course, would never be caught dead voting for
the Hugo, of course. Which goes back to my comment in #9. If you get
involved in the voting process, you CAN make the Hugo represent what
you think they should. If you don't get involved, you shouldn't gripe
about the results.
The griping will continue, of course, no matter what I say. And the
Hugos are in good company. The SFWA fights a running battle over the
Nebula, and neither of these comes close to the second guessing and
backbiting that goes on around the Oscar. Personally, I think the
controversy is a good sign -- it shows people are paying attention and
thinking about the results. Its better than being ignored.
* * *
There are a number of ways that the Hugo can be improved, though.
First and foremost, to me, is the silly Australian ballot preference
system used for counting votes. I won't attempt to explain the system
-- it looks like a statisticians masters thesis and makes keeping score
while bowling look easy. Rather, the following excerpt from Locus #309
says it all:
"'The Only Neat Thing to Do' [...] had the most nominations AND the
most first place votes and led for the first three rounds. It lost
to the Zelazny story because it didn't command enough second place
votes. The story eliminated next to last was the C.J. Cherryh, and
most of these voters preferred the Zelazny story in their second place."
In other words, Tiptree got the most votes, (208 to 194 for the winning
Zelazny story) but lost because people who like C. J. Cherryh stories
(who placed fifth in the voting, even though she got more votes than
the fourth place Robinson story) prefer Zelazny to Tiptree.
Huh?
I'm sorry, but if you get the most votes, you take home the award. Except
under a balloting system that requires an MBA, two computers, and an
astrology chart. In 1986, out of 13 categories, the person with the most
first place votes LOST in three categories. I'm just glad they don't do
this with the presidential elections; can you imagine the possibilities?
* * *
It also seems obvious that the No Award award doesn't work. People
will simply not vote rather than vote for nothing (two entirely
different things!) thereby letting an award go to someone who doesn't
have the support of the membership. One way to make the Hugo more
valuable is to stop giving it out when it isn't deserved. No Award was
supposed to do this, but it hasn't worked. Rather than forcing someone
to take a positive action, I think it is better to simply remove No
Award from the ballot completely, and only give the award in a category
when 50%+1 of the valid ballots have a vote for the category. If 50%
of the voters don't vote, the membership is saying there isn't
something in the category worth voting for, and the award isn't
justified. In the case of Best Fanzine this year, there was a major
campaign for the No Award. If it hadn't been for the Australian
counting, it would have "won" (239 votes vs. the winning Lan's Lantern
153). Under the suggested rules, there were 1267 legal ballots, and
805 voted for Best Fanzine. When you subtract the 239 No Award
ballots, you end up with 566 votes for the category, well below the
awarding level. The Fan Writer category would also not have been
awarded, and the Fan Artist is right on the edge.
Hugos should be given out for a reason, not because they exist.
Changing No Award will make sure that when there isn't a mandate for an
award, there isn't an award.
* * *
Finally, I think that the Best Pro Artist category needs to be
rethought. Michael Whelan pulled himself from contention next year
because he has won consistently. When someone builds enough of a
presence in the industry (as Whelan deservedly has) it's possible for
him to win even though they didn't do a single work of art in a given
year, simply because they are well known. Does this make sense?
We might as well be voting for Best Author instead of Best Novel. Best
Pro Artist shouldn't be tied to the person, but to the work. Don't
vote for the artist, but for the cover or illustration or painting that
you feel is best. This does mean, potentially, that Whelan could be
nominated two or three times in a year, but if that happens, it is
simply showing his dominance of the field and not his name recognition.
* * *
None of this, of course, will make the Hugo perfect. I do feel,
though, it will make it better. Still, a lot can be done if people
simply get involved. The Hugo is, like it or not, your award, and it
represents everyone involved in the SF genre. If you don't get
involved, you aren't part of the solution -- you're part of the problem.
The Masthead
OtherRealms is Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach
All Rights Reserved
One time rights have been acquired from the contributors. All Rights
are hereby assigned to the contributors.
Reproduction Rights: OtherRealms may be reproduced only for non-commercial
uses. Re-use, reproduction, or reprinting of any individual article in
any way on any media is forbidden without permission.
OtherRealms is published monthly, except for the January issue in
December, by:
Chuq Von Rospach
160 Pasito Terrace #712
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
E-mail: chuq@sun.COM
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Publishers: review copies should be sent to this address for consideration.
Submission Policy
Material about Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror is solicited. The
main focus is reviews of newer and lesser known authors and their
books. Anything of interest to the serious reader of the genre is
welcome. First Serial is requested. Pico Reviews are welcome on any
book. Use the format in this issue, and limit your comments to one
paragraph. Letters to OtherRealms are always welcome. All letters
will be considered for publication unless specifically requested.
A new Writers Guide is available for a SASE to the above address.
Authors should include a bionote and make sure I know what address
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Copyrighted articles get a contributors copy of OtherRealms, so make
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Book Ratings in OtherRealms
All books are rated with the following guidelines. Most books should
have a three star rating. Anything rated three stars or above is
recommended. Stars may be modified with a + or a - to show a half star
rating, with [***-] being slightly better than [**+].
[*****] Classic, Hugo quality
[****] Hugo Nominee quality
[***] Average book, good read
[**] Somewhat flawed, has its moments
[*] Not recommended
[] Avoid at all costs
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